


What is a youth

by Jumping_rope_with_optical_nerves



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: 80's Music, 90's Music, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Banter, Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier Are Best Friends, Bisexual Disaster Richie Tozier, Bisexual Richie Tozier, Coming Out, Drama, Eveyone crushes on Beverly, Fluff and Humor, Garage rock, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Inspired by Music, Inspired by Romeo and Juliet, M/M, Mike Hanlon Isn't Homeschooled, Mike Hanlon is older, Mild Swearing, Minor Bill Denbrough/Audra Phillips, Minor Mike Hanlon/Stanley Uris, Music, POV Richie Tozier, Recreational Drug Use, Richie Tozier & Stanley Uris Are Best Friends, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier has terrible parents, Richie Tozier is a Mess, Richie Tozier's Sense of Humor, Smoking, Supportive Beverly Marsh, Teenagers, Theatre, Theatre Kids, drama club, gay boys, romeo and juliet - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:42:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 31,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22024291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jumping_rope_with_optical_nerves/pseuds/Jumping_rope_with_optical_nerves
Summary: He took another drag of his cigarette. At the sound of the rooftop door creaking open, Richie lifted his head from the ground to glance over. A mop of familiar fiery hair popped from behind the heavy metal door. He dropped his head back to the ground and exhaled the smoke, giving her a small wave with his free hand."I thought I might be able to find you here." Beverly said, her voice gentle and kind, a tone Richie couldn't stand to hear right now. It only confirmed his suspicions. He hummed in response and continued staring up at the clouds as he heard Bev walking over to him, sitting next to his head on the ledge where he was laying. He held out the cigarette for her and she took it, taking a drag before handing it back to him.(In which Richie and Eddie are Romeo and Juliet in the school play and Richie has feelings he needs to figure out)
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 56
Kudos: 118





	1. Harsh words

**Author's Note:**

> Hello hello!
> 
> Thank you all for choosing to click on this particular work!  
> There's Star Wars references! Reddie interactions that will make you groan with "why are these gays so disastrous" feels! Bev and Stan being _that_ friend (you know the one, that always seems to know everything about everyone)! Music in abundance! Richie doing impressions! Some teachers of mine just for the heck of it!
> 
> Richie pov with lots of gay panic because honestly we all need more of that in our lives.  
> Now without further ado, I hope you all enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Richie sighed softly, reveling in the feeling of the september wind ruffling through his dark curls. He closed his eyes and turned his face towards the sun, enjoying the last warm rays of the season. The summer was running to its end, the slight chill in the breeze attesting to this fact, nightfall coming earlier each day, the scent of freshly cut grass on the wind and the sun not quite as bright as it had been just two weeks ago. It was Richie's favourite time of year.

It was so easy to forget everything when he was sitting on the roof out here, away from the world and high school life.  
He took a long drag from the cigarette that was dangling between his long fingers and slowly exhaled the smoke, feeling his nerves quiet even if just for a second.  
He knew he should probably quit, but it was really the only thing that was keeping him sane at this particular moment in his life.

Then the image of a certain small, ill tempered boy popped into his head. Richie frowned and tried to ignore it. That was completely uncalled for.  
He didn't want to think of Eddie. Not right now. Or well... Not ever really. It was confusing.

When the mental image of the boy's face falling and eyes filling with pure, undiluted hurt before glassing over forced itself on him, Richie let out a long groan and rubbed his face with his free hand, opening his eyes again to look at the small clouds passing by overhead. He really fucked up this time, didn't he?

He took another drag of his cigarette. At the sound of the rooftop door creaking open, Richie lifted his head from the ground to glance over. A mop of familiar fiery hair popped from behind the heavy metal door. He dropped his head back to the ground and exhaled the smoke, giving her a small wave with his free hand.

"I thought I might be able to find you here." Beverly said, her voice gentle and kind, a tone Richie couldn't stand to hear right now. It only confirmed his suspicions. He hummed in response and continued staring up at the clouds as he heard Bev walking over to him, sitting next to his head on the ledge where he was laying. He held out the cigarette for her and she took it, taking a drag before handing it back to him.

She didn't say anything and Richie really appreciated it. He wasn't in the mood to talk and she knew that. Beverly somehow always knew what someone needed and then she just gave it to them, without even expecting something in return. It was fucking crazy really, no wonder that so many people had a crush on her. 

Not Richie though. Sometimes he wished he did. It would be so much easier that way. It wasn't like they weren't physically compatible.

Beverly silently took his cigarette and took another drag, resting her arm onto her propped up knee, holding it between her fingers. She looked up at the sky as well, blowing the smoke in the direction of the clouds above.

Richie felt like he should probably explain what had happened. After all, the only thing Bev, Bill and Stan had actually witnessed when walking into the drama room was Eddie staring out in front of him and Richie glaring at his feet. Immediately catching on, since the two of them being quiet was a rare occurence, they had quieted and exchanged concerned glances with one another.

"Is eve-everything ok-okay?" Bill had asked, breaking the awkward silence between them after a few seconds.  
Eddie had shrugged and turned his face away, walking over to where they usually ate in the back corner of the drama room, and plopping down. Richie had taken one look at the rigid, quiet Eddie sitting there, looking oh so small, and then it had become too much. He turned on his heals and strided out of the room, needing to calm the insane whirlwind of anger, embarrassment, fear, pain and anxiety that started raging inside of him.  
"Where are you going?" He vaguely heard behind him, but he didn't pay it any mind and just ran the second he was out of the door.

And now here he was, on the rooftop with Bev.  
He let out a long sigh.

"I insulted him."  
Richie prompted.  
He looked up towards Bev, trying to gauge her reaction. She released the smoke from the drag she just took and looked down at him with her eyebrow raised. After she didn't say anything, Richie looked back at the sky and cleared his throat.

"He was just ranting on and on about how ridiculous it was that we would have to act opposite one another in the play and that he absolutely did not ever want to even think of being with me, how it was ridiculous that we would have to kiss and how he wondered if he wouldn't be able to change miss Boeck's mind about it, that the mere thought of us kissing was ridiculous and I.. I was just so hurt you know? So.. So I snapped. I didn't mean to, but I did.  
I told him that he should try to put himself in my shoes, having to kiss him. I told him it made me sick in my stomach and I would be surprised anyone would even want to kiss him ever, not with his stupid fake illnesses and his asthma and that stupid ugly crying face he makes eveytime anything happens at all, that he's a whiny cry baby not even worth thinking about in any way but like an annoying little brother and.... and I tried to hit him where I knew it would hurt Bev... I didn't even think, I was just speaking to hurt him you know? And the worst part? I succeeded.  
I wish I just kept my trashmouth shut. I am such a garbage human person. I should just go throw myself into the dumpster where I belong."

Richie chewed on his bottom lip like he always did when he was worried, the crease between his brows deepening as he recalled the scene. Beverly handed him the cigarette and he thankfully took a drag before looking up at her. Her face had a pensive expression and she hummed softly, staring into the distance for a bit before turning her face back to Richie and giving him a kind smile.  
"You were hurt, Richie. People say things they don't mean when they're in pain."

Richie released a humourless chuckle, so unlike his usual boisterous laugh. He didn't deserve Beverly. Especially not right now.  
"Yeah but he didn't know that Bev, he probably didn't realise he was stomping all my hopes to little shreds under those neat little sneakers of his.."

"I'm not saying you didn't go too far, because you certainly did, but you can't change the past Richie."

Richie sighed and took another drag of the cigarette that was getting considerably shorter.  
"If only I could.. The worst part was the look in his eyes. I could see his confidence melting and his insecurities hitting full force and I just wanted to hug and protect him from what was hurting him, but it was me. It was me who did this."

Beverly shrugged, the pity evident in her bright blue eyes. Richie really wished he could fall in love with her...

Then the bell rang.

Richie groaned and sat up from where he was laying, putting out the bud in the ashtray Bev and he shared up here.  
He put his elbows on his knees and rubbed his face for a second before standing up and plastering a grin on his face.

"Will you be okay?" Beverly asked, the pitiful concern still in her eyes.  
Richie stretched his arms above his head before dropping them back down, thinking for a short moment before raising his shoulders in a small shrug. "I will be eventually. Probably. Look, I promise I will try to make this right okay, I don't want you guys to suffer because I can't keep my mouth shut." Richie said with a halfhearted smile.

"Now let's go back before Snape skins me alive!"  
He contorted his face to the sour expression of their chemistry teacher, mister Tortel, that did in fact show quite the likeness to the magical teacher.  
"Turn to page 394, you insufferable brats. Tozier! Detention for being a nosy know it all!" He sneered in a near perfect impression, coaxing a bubbling laugh from Beverly.  
"You idiot" she grinned, standing up herself before linking their arms and walking back into the hellhole that they called high school. This was going to be a long day.


	2. Isolation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie dropped his face onto his pulled up knees, mumbling out a muffled "Leave me alone.."
> 
> That was probably not the right choice of words, because as soon as he said them, Stan ushered Mike out of the room and walked over to the stall Richie was hiding in.
> 
> "Richie."

Richie found himself unable to think about much else than the weird, painful exchange he'd had with Eddie for the rest of the day. The sight of Eddie's eyes the moment before they glassed over kept playing in his mind, making him even less attentive than he usually was. He still laughed as loud as he could and made stupid remarks (which still made his teachers groan and roll their eyes evey time), but he didn't get the same kick out of the class bursting out into laughter. Not when Eddie was doing everything not to look at him. He had even picked another bench during chemistry, which meant they wouldn't be lab partners for the next assignment, which sucked because Eddie was the only one that actually got him to do some work done.  
And then it turned out even worse because apparently someone was sick, so Richie ended up doing the assignment alone.

At the end of last period, Richie could basically feel the anxiety sparking of himself. 

At five, they would have drama. 

This wouldn't be such a problem if it weren't for the fact that they were playing the lead characters. And they were supposed to be in love. 

After all the shit he had just said to Eddie, he would be surprised if the boy could even look into his eyes without recoiling.

Richie let out a sigh, accidentally attracting Stan's attention. His curly haired friend tilted his head at him, pinning him with those dark brown eyes of his as if he was saying _What happened?_

Richie just shrugged and served him a huge sparkling grin.  
 _Nothing really, what are you talking about?_

He wasn't fooling the other though. They had been friends for about twelve years now and Stan knew when his friend was beating himself up over shit, no matter how much he tried to hide it. The brunette raised his perfectly plucked eyebrow at him.   
_You're not fooling anyone Trashmouth._

Richie sighed again and pretended to focus on the teacher who was rattling about different types of soil, ignoring his friend for the time being. He could feel Stan's glare on the side of his head for another few seconds before he turned back as well, crossing his arms. 

This wasn't over yet and Richie knew it. 

As soon as the bell rang, Richie immediately threw his pens and paper into his backpack without sparing his friends another glance and strided out of the room. He did not want to deal with Stan right now, so he didn't wait as he usually did. His friend would just make him feel bad about himself. Which honestly, he probably deserved, but that didn't change the fact that he couldn't deal with that right now.

In his haste to run away, he waked into a broad stature. At the concerned "Richie? Where are you going? Are you okay?" Richie's heart clenched.  
Even Mike, though not really a part of his close friends, would think that Richie had been a dick, which he knew. He KNEW!  
So instead of facing the older boy, he just swiveled around and, at the sight of Stan coming out of their classroom, he ran into the nearest bathroom and locked himself in. He slid down to the floor, leaning his head against the door, heart beating in his ears.

It didn't take long before he heard Stan and Mike entering the boy's room.  
"Do you know what's going on?"  
Mike's deep tenor sounded, clearly understandable despite his quiet tone.  
"I'm not sure but it has to have something to do with whatever happened between him and Eddie this midday, he just won't talk to me for some reason."  
Stan replied in a hushed voice, before calling out slightly louder.  
"Richie? Are you here?"

Richie dropped his face onto his pulled up knees, mumbling out a muffled "Leave me alone.."  
That was probably not the right choice of words, because as soon as he said them, Stan ushered Mike out of the room and walked over to the stall Richie was hiding in.  
"Richie."

Richie didn't reply.

After a few seconds of silence, he could hear Stan sighing before sliding down the other side of the door, sitting on the disgusting floor in his neat slacks and button up. The image of Stan scowling at the tiles as if they had personally offended him almost made him laugh. Almost.  
They sat like that in silence, while outside of the bathroom the sounds of people leaving to go home were starting to ebb away.  
After a minute or ten, it was just them and the silence.

Richie didn't know why his friends always got so silent with him... Well actually no, he did know. They knew that he wouldn't say anything until he was ready, so they wouldn't even try. The thought alone made Richie's heart clench again. He really didn't deserve them. Not at all.

He knew it was probably nearing five by now and Stan would sit here all the way through drama if he had to.  
Reluctantly he stood up and unlocked the door, giving Stan time to stand as well before he opened it and faced the slightly shorter boy. He wasn't used to looking down on the other. Not more than two years ago, he had been nearly the same height as Eddie, now he towered over everyone.

He looked at Stan, afraid of what his friend might say. Contrary to popular belief, he actually really did care about what people thought of him. Or well, actually just the people he cared about.

"You don't have to be afraid. I mean I will judge you, but I will also try my best to help you with whatever it is that got you running off in here in the first place Rich."  
Stan said, staring into Richie's eyes with obvious concern written in his own.

Richie gulped before nodding quickly, anxiously glancing between Stan's face and his own faded converse. It was difficult to look straight into the other's eyes right that instant. He knew his friend would figure out every single thing that was going on inside of him in a matter of seconds if he did.  
Somehow it was harder to talk to Stan about this than it had been to talk to Beverly.  
"I.." Richie took a deep breath and then the words just all spilled out at once.

He recounted the entire story to Stan, only leaving out the part where he was in love with Eddie, because he honestly wasn't ready to tell anyone about that just yet. Beverly finding out had been purely coincidental. He'd been ranting to himself as he always did on the roof after Eddie became too much for him and then she had just chuckled from the other side of the roof (he doesn't think he ever screamed as loudly as he did right then) and said "mood" and that was it. She'd become his regular confidant ever since.

After finishing his story, Richie didn't immediately look up at Stan, unprepared for what he would potentially find in the other's eyes.  
But he also couldn't look away for too long before he would completely lose his mind because the boy hadn't said anything yet for at least an entire second and goddamit why wasn't he saying anything??

Richie dared a quick glance up. What he saw was nothing he'd been prepared for. Okay, well, except for that constantly present "you stupid idiot" look that Stan seemed to reserve just for him.  
What he saw wasn't disgust or disappointment, no it was a mixture of relief, amusement and what could only be described as knowing. Stan always smirked as if he knew more than he was letting on and the smirk he was sporting right now was quite the specimen...

"And here I was, thinking something might be actually wrong!" Stan chuckled, slapping Richie on his shoulder.

"I- What?"  
Richie felt like he was missing something here because he really didn't see the humour in this situation. He blinked and stared at Stan with his mouth slightly open, still surprised by this unexpected reaction.  
"What do you mean?"

Stan shook his head with another soft chuckle.  
"You're such an idiot."

His face instantly turned more serious after the initial relief that his friend was actually just being very dramatic.  
"You really do have to appologise though Richie. It's not something he will kill you over, but it was still mean. You're lucky I gave that boy some self love classes."

And with that, Stan turned around and walked out, leaving a completely perplexed Richie in his wake. The lanky boy grabbed their backpacks of the floor and scrambled after his friend, catching up with him.  
"You're not mad at me?" He uttered with an unusually high pitched voice, eyes as big as they used to look behind those coke-bottle glasses of his.

Stan's look softened a bit.  
"We all make mistakes Richie. Even I do."

At that, Richie's face pulled into a mischievous grin. 

"Stan? Making a mistake? Perfect A grade honour student Stanley? Stan the man? Never!"  
He laughed out, earning an elbow to the ribs from his best friend.

"Shut up Trashmouth."

He did have a smile on his face though and Richie couldn't have been happier. His best friend didn't hate him! Whatever happened, he knew Stan would always have his back. (Though the next time he went all dramatic he would probably forget again.)

They came to a halt in front of the drama room at exactly six past five. They exchanged a look and simultaneously let out a sigh. Their drama teacher didn't deal well with lateness.

"Well, my good fellow, it was nice to have known you! Tally-ho, into the claws of the bear we go!" Richie exclaimed in a near perfect British accent.  
The accent made Stan roll his eyes and push open the door, rather dealing with the teacher than with this bullshit. 

Richie followed with a grin. He knew Stan loved him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stan is such a good friend fight me T-T  
> Also in this fic Stan and Richie have been friends since kindergarten, Bill joined a few years later and Bev in seventh grade.


	3. Drama class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie saw Eddie's hand shoot up from the corner of his eyes and braced himself for the disappointment he was about to feel.  
> "Can I switch roles?"  
> Richie clenched his jaw. 
> 
> It still stung.

The moment Stan and Richie walked in the drama room, their teacher had in fact immediately punished them by forcing them to perform a full three minutes of an embarrassing rendition of the chicken dance in front of the entire class. 

They had put their phones in the box and sat down between the other students as soon as she released them. It wasn't great to be humiliated in front of the newbies, not after only a few weeks of school. They were trying to make a good impression here! Reputations to uphold!

Richie glanced over Bill and Beverly's heads, only to see Eddie stare blankly at the wall behind the stage they were sitting on. Well, great.  
Richie sank a little lower in his chair, staring at the curtains hanging on the other end of the stage. Another three hours and they would be out of here. Yup. He could do that.

"Since I have distributed the roles, we will do a read through today."  
Oh great, that meant they wouldn't be here that long!  
"You will also try to act out your scene as you go, that way you can get a feel for how it will turn out."  
Oh no.

Richie saw Eddie's hand shoot up from the corner of his eyes and braced himself for the disappointment he was about to feel.  
"Can I switch roles?"  
Richie clenched his jaw. 

It still stung.

"And why would you do that? You and Richie have great chemistry and you haven't disappointed me before. I made a very concious choice to make you my lead characters."

"I would just rather not do this part with Richie?"  
Eddie tried to argue, voice raising in uncertainty at the end of his centence.

"Not a chance Edward, you're doing the part." Miss Boeck replied with that stern tone in her voice that said that she wouldn't take no for an answer. Eddie seemed to realise this as well, because he just slumped into his chair and held his script in front of his face.

Richie could feel everyone's eyes on him. At this point he deserved Eddie wanting to switch parts, but at the same time he had wanted to change even before Richie's outburst and that really hurt.   
Even the newbies were giving him pitiful glances now...

Well this was just perfect wasn't it...

Determined to break the tense silence that had fallen over the group, Richie stood up and plastered a bright toothy grin on his face.  
"Come on dear children, what are you all waiting for? We've got a script to read here!" He exclaimed, waving the script at their faces, managing to pull a few awkward chuckles from the others. (He was glad that he managed to advert the attention from him and Eddie even just a little.)

The other members of the drama club hesitantly stood up as well when Richie started motioning at them. The dark haired boy still felt his friends looking at him but he didn't make eye contact, instead continuing to laugh and pulling up people who were still sitting down.

Once everyone had stood up and removed the chairs of the stage, their teacher spoke up again.

"Alright, I'm going to sit at the sidelines today, I trust you guys to take care everything goes as it is supposed to, okay?"

The group nodded. The first three seconds everyone looked around at each other until Bill spoke up.  
"Okay wh-who plays Gregory and Simpson? You guys prepare while Mike starts of with the Prologue." Bill glanced at Mike and gave him a nod, and that was really all they needed to get started.

It went pretty smoothly, the few newbies that weren't cast as background characters doing their best, although it was a bit awkward with everyone looking at their script. Richie breezed through his first scene with Bill as Benvolio, the other barely even stuttering when acting. Then the scene where Stan joined them as well, making quite the accurate Mercutio. Stan was one hell of an actor.  
Though Richie really would have prefered his friend's role at this moment in time. Especially with the dreaded party scene coming closer every second...

Richie could barely even laugh with the rest of the group at Bev's sexually tinted words as Juliet's nurse. The scene was almost there. He would have to face Eddie and they would even have to kiss, this was not going to go well fucking dammit.  
Richie was basically vibrating with nervous energy at that point.

And then there they were.

Richie took a deep breath.  
"If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine the gentle fine is this my lips two blushing pilgrims ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."  
Richie all but mumbled, not looking Eddie in the eyes. His energy from earlier had completely dissipated and he felt even more shy and nervous than the first time he had stood here on this stage in front of all those people he didn't know (except for Stan that is) and had to do his audition.

"Good pilgrim you do wrong your hand too much which mannerly devotion shows in this for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."  
Came Eddie's reply, quicker even than he usually spoke. From the sound of it Eddie wasn't looking at him either.

Richie cleared his throat and immediately continued, voice monotonous.  
"Have not saints lips and holy palmers too."

"Ay pilgrim lips th-" But that was all Eddie could say before their teacher's voice piped up from the side of the room.

"Stop, stop, stop! That's all wrong!"  
She stood up and walked over to where they were standing in the middle of the circle, coming to a halt right in front of them and putting her hands on her hips, a frown on her usually smiling face.

"Where is the passion? The love!? You guys were doing so great up till now! I especially casted you two because of how good you guys play together and now this! Whatever the reason is for this, you better solve it by next week, because I won't have it. Understood?"

Richie felt his cheeks heating up and stared at his feet, giving the teacher a nod. He didn't like disappointing her. She was the reason he had started drama to begin with and without her it would probably still be just him and Stan acting out stupid comic book fights in his back yard.

He looked at Eddie, who was just as red as he was, and for the first time this day actually returned the look. Richie's eyes widened and his heart did a flip in his chest before he pulled his gaze away from Eddie's. He had gone even more red than before.

"Good. Since everyone has had a taste of the play, we will end the reading here."  
Richie and Eddie shuffled back into the circle.

"As you guys know, a job we do ourselves is a job done best. Therefore, everything behind the scenes is also going to be done by us. There is light, sound, choreography and general management. Now since Mike is our only last year student, those tasks will fall to him and then the students who've been here the longest, being Bill, Beverly, Richie, Eddie and Stan."  
She turned towards them.

"You guys can pick people to help you, we have enough newbies this year! I expect teamwork and cooperation from you all. In the end, it is you who make or break this show."  
She gave a pointed look to Richie and Eddie at that.  
"Well you're all free to leave, we'll meet up again next Friday, I expect you all to know the words to at least the first two acts."


	4. Locked in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> However, the moment he tried to take his phone out of the box, miss Boeck closed it, almost trapping his fingers, and shut the door in front of his face.
> 
> "I'm not letting you two out until you get along again!"  
> He heard her yell before she locked the door and walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all Happy New Year everyone!!
> 
> Second, please enjoy XD  
> (This was a lot of fun to write)
> 
> Here is the spotify playlist I made for this fic! It's titled fic because I have no inspiration when it comes to naming stuff XD  
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1OmVqOTzXfBH2YDRLp6U0E?si=hz0FlrTETy2P7p0pJ4Buqw

After telling them they were free to leave, the teacher walked over to the box of phones and went to wait in the dooropening, holding open the box for everyone to take their respective phones.

Richie felt bad. This was all his fault. Of course he didn't mind going home earlier, because that would mean he would be away from Eddie, but he could see that the others would've liked to say some more and rehearse.  
The lanky boy let out a sigh and grabbed his backpack. It was honestly for the best...

He walked towards the door after his friends, leaving Eddie to struggle with his stuff by himself where he would usually be the one to stay and help (which he felt bad about too, but he could hardly offer any help right now). 

However, the moment he tried to take his phone out of the box, miss Boeck closed it, almost trapping his fingers, and shut the door in front of his face.

"I'm not letting you two out until you get along again!"  
He heard her yell before she locked the door and walked away.

A feeling of dread settled in the pit of Richie's stomach at being alone in one room with just Eddie.  
"Hey no you can't do that! Let us out!! Miss!!!"  
He tried the doorknob to check if it was in fact locked and slammed against the door with his hand when it wouldn't open.  
He couldn't believe she had just locked them in... Could she even do that? Was that allowed? 

After rattling at the door for a bit longer to no avail, Richie let out a long sigh and dropped his backpack to the ground. He turned towards Eddie, his shoulders unconsciously hunching up. The boy shoved his hands into his pockets, staring at the tips of his converse and chewing his bottom lip. After about ten seconds of loaded silence that honestly felt more like an hour, he cleared his throat and focused his eyes on Eddie. Richie adjusted his glasses.  
"Guess we're stuck here then..."

No reaction.

Richie bounced back and forth on the balls of his feet and puffed up his cheeks, trying to figure out whether or not Eddie would react to an apology.  
He couldn't really tell anything from looking at the shorter boy's back alone though...

Okay. Okay, time to get over himself. Even if Eddie didn't accept it, he still had to give an appology for being a dick. Stan didn't raise him to be a coward.  
He blew out the air in his cheeks and took a few breaths to calm himself.  
He mustered all his courage and then spoke.

"Look, I know I fucked up and I'm really sorry for lashing out at you, I honestly meant nothing of what I said I actually meant the exact opposite I just didn't think straight and you desperately not wanting to do the play with me was kinda painful, but I know I shouldn't have reacted the way I did and now it's too late and I really want to make it up to you so please tell me what I can do I will do anything.."  
Richie basically gasped for breath after blurting all that out. He looked up at the back of Eddie's head and scratched the back of his neck.  
"I'm... I'm really sorry..."

It took a few seconds (of pure unfiltered anxiety for Richie) before Eddie turned around and looked him right in the eyes.

"Anything?"  
The brunette asked, the mischievous glint in his eyes escaping Richie, who was too relieved that his friend was actually talking to him again to notice.

"Yes of course!"  
He exclaimed.

"Suck my dick, bitch." Eddie deadpanned.

Richie blinked. Not sure if he heard the other right.  
"What was that now?"

Seeing Eddie's grin at his confusion, Richie figured that must have actually been what he had said.

"You heard me Trashmouth."

Richie let out an incredulous laugh.  
"You're not mad at me?"  
He asked, his eyes wide as saucers, honestly still not sure if Eddie was serious. He might say 'I'm kidding' any moment now and go back to completely ignoring him.

"I mean not that I want you to be it's just..." He motioned vaguely between them.

"Well I mean, what you said wasn't cool, but I had a lot of time to think and I realised that you didn't actually meant what you said and that it was just a reaction to what I said, so like I'm also sorry."   
Eddie shrugged, that soft smile that made Richie's heart do flips playing across his lips. "We'll call it even."

Eddie didn't have to say that twice. Richie showed him a huge grin and ran over, grabbing the unsuspecting boy in a chokehold and ruffling his perfectly coiffed hair before letting go. 

"Fuck you Richie!" Eddie spluttered, trying to get his hair back into place.

"Gladly~" Richie retalliated, ducking with an airy laugh to avoid the book that came flying at his head at the comment.

"You're disgusting." Eddie said, but there was no real malice in his voice. He gave up on trying to fix his hair, letting the waves take over. Richie secretly preferred Eddie when he was less put together and stopped caring. He was beautiful any way, so he really didn't have to care to the extent he did.

Richie straightened and showed Eddie a genuine smile. He really was glad that the other wasn't mad anymore. He hadn't even realised how bad his worry had been. Missing Eddie wasn't something he was used to, even it it had just been a day.

"Now what do we do..." Eddie said, looking at the locked door behind Richie. 

Eddie's words pulled the lanky boy back to reality. They were stuck in drama on a friday evening with no phones.  
Richie frowned and also looked at the locked door behind him. Knowing their teacher, she would probably let them out at eight when drama usually ended. That would give them about... An hour? Maybe a little bit less. Time guessing wasn't his strongest suit.

Doing Homework wasn't an option since they hadn't gotten their books from the lockers yet, not that Richie would've done homework to begin with.

Richie glanced around the room until his eyes fell on the piano, standing all by itself in the concert pit. He grinned and turned to Eddie.  
"Let's sing something! We can start on the play maybe?"  
Eddie shrugged but walked over to the piano nonetheless when Richie settled on the bench.

The taller boy pulled his messy dark curls to the back of his head and tied them, a few stray hairs escaping and framing his face. To be honest, it wasn't just his hair that was a mess, pretty much everything about him was messy. The worn out converse with the weird doodles on them, his unkempt hair, his ripped jeans (that were atually ripped from falling on his face and not for fashion purposes), his oversized band tees that weren't that oversized anymore, and his dark flannels. At least his fashion sence had improved a little bit since they first started high school. The Hawaiian shirts still made frequent appearances, though in a more fashion forward context.

Placing his fingers on the keys, Richie hummed.  
"Any requests?"  
"This was your idea dickwad, come up with something yourself." Eddie said, shaking his head.

Richie grinned before pulling his face in a serious expression and, after a second, started playing an upbeat intro (that Eddie didn't recognise). Then he started singing.  
"How come you're always such a fussy young man  
Don't want no Cap'n Crunch, don't want no Raisin Bran  
Well don't you know that other kids are starvin' in Japan  
So eat it, just eat it"  
He sang in a low voice, making eye contact with Eddie, who couldn't hold back his giggles at Richie's serious face in contrast with the lyrics.

"Don't want to argue, I don't want to debate  
Don't want to hear about what kinds of foods you hate  
You won't get no dessert 'till you clean off your plate  
So eat it!"  
His singing intensified and he was leaning back in the seat, face contorted as if he was putting all he had into it, fully making Eddie laugh now.

"Don't you tell me you're full  
Just eat it  
Get yourself an egg and beat it

Have some more chicken  
Have some more pie  
It doesn't matter  
If it's boiled or fried"  
Eddie was clutching his belly at this point.

"Just eat it"  
He sang in a low growly voice.  
"Eat it!"  
In a high pitched kermit voice this time. He repeated the last bit a few times, encouraged by the reaction he got from Eddie.

He ended with a high whoop and a slam to the keys, turning towards the laughing Eddie with a satisfied grin.

After a bit, the shorter boy's laughing subsided.  
"Oof, okay I should have seen that coming.. You're such a dumbass."  
Eddie said, whiping his eyes, a few giggles still escaping him.

Richie shrugged, a bright grin plastered on his face.  
"You know it!"

Eddie shook his head.  
"Didn't you say something about the play?"

Richie hummed in agreement, raking his mind for a song he could play. He'd watched both movie adaptations of the play last wednesday.  
"What about 'What is a youth'?" He suggested.

Eddie's face lit up.  
"Oh, I love that song!"   
A confused expression crossed his face.   
"But wait, why do you know the accompaniment?"

Richie heard the unspoken 'aren't you into those hard rock bands whose shirts you religiously wear?' loud and clear.  
He shrugged with a smile. He had a good memory, so it wasn't that hard to learn things like these anyway, plus, he knew Eddie liked this particular song.  
"It's a good song, what can I say." 

Richie placed his fingers on the right keys, taking a moment to remember how the song went exactly, and then he started.

"What is a youth?  
Impetuous fire.  
What is a maid?  
Ice and desire.  
The world wags on

A rose will bloom,  
It then will fade  
So does a youth.  
So does the fairest maid."

Richie's voice was low and a bit gravely now that he was taking the singing serious. He played with intensity and laced his words with questioning melancholy, as if he was writing it on the go. 

"Comes a time when one sweet smile  
Has it's season for awhile  
Then Love's in love with me

Some may think only to marry.  
Others will tease and tarry.  
Mine is the very best parry,  
Cupid he rules us all."

Eddie took over, Richie continuing to accompany him on the piano. Eddie's voice was higher than Richie's, but he sang with the same passion, his words clear and well pronounced. He pulled up his eyebrows as if he was telling his one man audience something they ought to know.

Richie joined in again for the next verse and they looked at each other while singing, a smile on both their faces.  
"Caper the caper; sing me the song  
Death will come soon to hush us along  
Sweeter than honey and bitter as gall,  
Love is a pastime that never will pall.  
Sweeter than honey and bitter as gall,  
Cupid he rules us all."

Richie's piano playing became more mellow and soft during the short interlude and he could feel this weird tugging in his heart.

"A rose will bloom, it then will fade."  
Their volume increased, preparing for the next phrase.

"So does a youth."  
They sang at the top of their lungs, Richie a minor third beneath Eddie, keeping his eyes on the other as the boy closed his eyes, completely absorbed in the song.

"So does the fairest maid."  
They harmonised perfectly together, quieting down and drawing out the last note.

A big grin was plastered on both their faces as Richie played the last note and took his fingers of the keyboard. They stared at each other for a good second, before Richie broke the silence by clearing his throat. Luckily the lighting in the orchestra pit hid the fact that his cheeks had gone bright red.

"Should I play another?" He asked, averting his eyes.

Eddie nodded and sat down on the piano bench next to his friend.  
"Do a serious one, I like your voice when you're singing like you mean it."

Richie felt his cheeks heat up at the compliment.  
"Oh, so my voice isn't good enough otherwise?"  
He joked, pretending to be hurt to hide the fact that he had actually become flustered. He thanked the dim lighting in the orchestra pit once again.

"Ah, you know what I meant dipshit! Now play something."  
Eddie replied, softly elbowing Richie.

"Okay okay alright, let me think."  
Richie laughed, looking back towards the piano. Something serious huh... Well he had written a new song recently... But could he let Eddie hear that?

Eh, why not.

Richie prepared himself in front of the piano and cleared his throat, his nerves playing up a little. He didn't usually play self written songs for other people... But if he was going to play for anyone, then Eddie would be that person.

"Well here goes nothing" he mumbled. And then he started singing, voice low and soft.

"Oh yeah  
All right

Somebody's Heine'  
Is crowding my icebox  
Somebody's cold one  
Is giving me chills  
Guess I'll just close my eyes

Oh yeah, alright  
Feels good, inside"

"Flip on the telly  
Wrestle with Jimmy  
Something is bubbling  
Behind my back  
The bottle is ready to blow"  
Something raw made it's way into Richie's voice. He didn't know this, but it sent goose bumps all over Eddie's skin.

"Say it ain't so  
Your drug is a heartbreaker  
Say it ain't so  
My love is a life taker"  
He shut his eyes as he sang the chorus, voice breaking with the intensity of the song. He poured his insecurities and pain into the words, and he might not be the best singer, but he could convey emotions.

"I can't confront you  
I never could do  
that which might hurt you  
So try and be cool  
When I say  
'This way is a water slide away from me  
That takes you further every day'  
So be cool"  
He glanced at Eddie, feeling his heart beat in his throat, before completely losing himself in the song once again.

"Say it ain't so  
My love is a heartbreaker  
Say it ain't so  
My love is a life taker

Dear Daddy, I write you  
In spite of years of silence  
You've cleaned up, found Jesus  
Things are good, or so I hear"  
The sarcasm was dripping of his voice at this part, hiding the layer of pain beneath.

"This bottle of Stephen's  
Awakens ancient feelings  
Like father, stepfather  
The son is drowning in the flood  
Yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah

Say it ain't so  
My love is a heartbreaker  
Say it ain't so  
My love is a life taker

Say it ain't so  
My love is a heartbreaker  
Say it ain't so  
My love is a life taker"  
He concluded the song, keeping his eyes closed, avoiding eye contact with Eddie while he gathered himself. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to completely bare himself like this... But it was Eddie. 

After a few seconds, he turned his face to look at the other, who turned out to be looking at him with a dumbfounded expression. Richie wasn't entirely sure if that was a good thing or not. He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses on his nose.  
"It sounds better when I play it with my guitar, sorry if it didn't sound that great..."

Eddie's face came back to life. He shook his head fervently at Richie's words, stumbling over his own in his rush to reassure the other.  
"No- no that was really good! Like, like really very good! I didn't know you could do that with your voice."

Richie shrugged, his face now positively burning, not even the bad lighting could hide that. "Well I don't really sing a lot around you guys I guess."

"You should."  
Eddie prompted, looking into Richie's eyes with a serious expression.  
"Sing more, I mean. You.. like, it's really good."  
His face had turned red too now.

Richie smiled, adjusting his glasses once again, glancing away from Eddie.  
"Well... thanks."

His heart was flipping and whooping in his chest. Eddie liked his song!! He liked it!  
Richie was too flustered to even attempt to make a joke. The whole situation was so much more serious than he was used to and somehow he kind of liked it?

His smile grew a little bit bigger. Eddie liked his song!

As they sat there in silence, both of them unsure what to say next, the sound of keys jangling in the door startled them both. Richie jumped up from the piano bench, swiveling around to face the door. Eddie jumped up as well, taking a step away from Richie just as their teacher stepped trough the door.

She raised an eyebrow, looking between the two of them, standing there with red faces, not looking at each other.

"I gather you two made up then?"  
She questioned.

The both of them nodded.

"Time to go home in that case. Don't forget to practice your lines."

The both of them beelined for their backpacks and accepted their phones from their teacher, who was giving them that look that Stan so often sported as if she knew something they didn't.

They walked out of the school without saying anything and on the drive home, they joked and talked as usual, pretending nothing had happened. 

Something had changed though. 

Richie could feel it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song I used were (in order):  
> "Eat it" by Weird Al Yankovic
> 
> "What is a youth" by Nino Rota  
> (which is from the old Romeo and Juliet movie. I really liked the song)
> 
> "Say it ain't so" by Weezer, cover by Calpurnia  
> (Finn's voice in that song made me want to make Richie a singer XD)
> 
> In this fic Eddie is a feisty ass lil theatre kid that listens to musical songs and Richie is the soft ass Rock lover and that's the tea


	5. Finally alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie slung his long legs over the side of the bed. He got up and threw on a stray pair of sweatpants, a hoody and his leather jacket. He didn't bother with socks, slipping his feet directly into his converse. He grabbed his essentials and quickly left the house that failed to feel like home.   
> No one would miss him anyway. His dad was out doing god knew what, and his mom was on another business trip. 
> 
> It got lonely sometimes...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only Richie in this chapter! And more songs :))

That night, Richie couldn't get his mind off the events of the day. 

He kept replaying everything in his mind, more specifically the last part. He hadn't really thought of the fact that he never sang for his friends. Well, it was probably because of the vulnerability...  
He always felt vulnerable when singing. It was different than acting, because then he could just pretend to be someone else.  
With singing, it was different. He poured his emotions into his songs, if they were his or not.

Richie sighed and stared up at his ceiling. The moonlight was falling through his blinds, it had to be past midnight by now... He wouldn't be able to fall asleep like this, he was itching for a smoke.

Richie slung his long legs over the side of the bed. He got up and threw on a stray pair of sweatpants, a hoody and his leather jacket. He didn't bother with socks, slipping his feet directly into his converse. He grabbed his essentials and quickly left the house that failed to feel like home. No one would miss him anyway. His dad was out doing god knew what, and his mom was on another business trip. 

It got lonely sometimes...

The curly haired boy pulled his jacket closer around himself against the slight chill the wind carried. He sighed and lit a cigarette, shielding the flame of his lighter, taking a long drag before blowing out and watching the smoke being carried away on the wind. The moon was about three quarters full, a waning gibbous if he recalled correctly. Not sure where he picked that up, honestly.  
Richie stood on the porch of the big empty house, his emotions whirling around like the smoke that left his lips.

He finished his cigarette. That itch which he had tried to fight off with the smoke was still residing underneath his skin. He would have recognised it as anxiety if he had known any better, but he desperstely tried to ignore anything that could point in that direction, choosing instead to blame it on hyperactivity and his addiction.

Not able to calm down enough to sleep anyway, Richie decided to go for a drive.

He stepped in his car and without giving it a second thought, he left.  
He drove with his windows open so the smell of the cigarette he just smoked wouldn't stick in the car's upholstery. Eddie wouldn't like that.  
Desperate not to think for just a moment, Richie turned on his stereo.

A soft song with bouncy background music started playing, causing a smile to form on Richie's face at the lyrics, humming along the tune as he drove away from Derry. It was weekend, he had nowhere to be and he was young. The night was his.

"Sick of my town, locked in with all the petty people  
Need a vacation, somewhere that no one ever would dream to go  
Somewhere mundane, get in my car, see where it goes  
Finish the ride, hop off and hide  
Now that I'm finally alone

Oh yeah, yeah  
Honey, I'm finally alone  
Oh yeah, yeah"

He changed the lyrics slightly as he mumbled them under his breath, staring out at the empty road in front of him, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.  
He passed Eddie's house, throwing it a sideways glance, quickly putting that particular boy out of his mind.

He drove like that for about an hour, wandering aimlessly around the town, listening to his favourite music and not thinking about anything. It was working pretty well.  
After a while, Richie found himself driving out towards the quarry. The roads were bumpy and dark here, but he was here now so he wasn't turning back.   
His poor old car was making protesting noises. To be honest, Richie was impressed with how well the suspensions were keeping up.

"Sorry girl..." He whispered to the car after he hit a particularly deep pothole.

They (that being him, Eddie, Stan and Bill) hadn't really been to the quarry since they had started high school. With everyone else adamant on doing their homework and Richie not wanting to go alone and all that.

When he finally made it as far up as he could go, Richie leaned back in his chair, only for his eyes to widen almost comically. In front of him was what had to be the most beautiful he had ever seen Derry look. It was a netwerk of twinkling lights and black roofs shining in the moonlight...

Richie breathed out in awe. 

He turned off his car and just sat there for a moment, taking in the sight. How come he never saw this before...

A wave of inspiration hit him. 

He got out of the car and grabbed his guitar from the trunk. He always carried her with him for moments like these.  
Richie sat on the hood of his car with his guitar on his lap, tuning her before starting to pluck at the strings. He thought about life, about his parents, his friends, the town he grew up in and... Eddie. For the first time in a while he fully let himself think about the extent of his crush on his smaller friend, the events of the day and just everything Eddie.

And then it came. A tune for Derry, but most importantly for Eddie. Eddie. Eddie Eddie Eddie. The name made a smile appear on his face. Eddie. The feisty boy with the big doe eyes, who would throw Richie's jokes right back at him, who kept him on his toes. Eddie. The boy in the tidy overalls with the impeccable shirts and cardigans who could not stand germs. Eddie, the boy that would stick with him even when he insulted his very being. Eddie. Eddie Eddie Eddie.

"Oh baby, oh man  
You're making my crazy, really driving me mad  
That's all right with me, it's really no fuss  
As long as you're next to me, just the two of us

You're my, my, my, my kind of man  
My, oh my, what a boy  
You're my, my, my, my kind of man  
And I'm down on my hands and knees  
Begging you please, baby, show me your world

Oh brother, sweetheart  
I'm feeling so tired really falling apart  
And it just don't make sense to me  
I really don't know  
Why you stick right next to me or wherever I go

You're my, my, my, my kind of man  
My, oh my, what a boy  
You're my, my, my, my kind of man  
And I'm down on my hands and knees  
Begging you please, baby, show me your world"

Richie smiled and laid back on the windowshield of his car, looking up at the stars, continuing to strum his guitar, singing the song over and over again to himself.

He was in love. 

He was in love with the small freckles dusting the other's face in the summer, he was in love with the way he would disinfect his hands every ten minutes, he was in love with the scowl he showed after Richie made another stupid joke, he was in love with his talent and the way that he spoke and everything that made him him. 

There was absolutely no denying it.  
Richie Tozier was in love with Eddie Kaspbrak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs used:  
> "Finally alone" by Mac Demarco
> 
> "My kind of Woman" also by Mac Demarco (I changed the lyrics to make the song about Eddie, obviously. The thought of Richie laying there, all goofy smiles, singing this to himself while thinking bout Eddie made me smile, hope you enjoyed it too XD)


	6. The car ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not that he was planning to. No no, not a chance. Richie avoided confrontation, he wouldn't go looking for it! Not intentionally anyway, his mouth sometimes ran off without him, but that was irrelevant right now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lo and behold!  
> I am actually updating daily :0 
> 
> Enjoy my dudes!

That monday morning, Richie felt nervous picking Eddie up from home for the first time in over a year. The last time had been when he had just gotten his driver's licence. Honestly, who wouldn't have been nervous after all the jokes about him probably being a horrid driver, Eddie's sensitive stomach and general dislike for anything that could move faster than 40 km/h??

The reason was different today though. After his realisation from two nights before, Richie hadn't stopped thinking about Eddie, nor about that sudden unprotected, vulnerable moment in the drama room. He wasn't sure if he could expect anything... more. Did anything really change or had he just imagined that?

It was probably just a one time thing that wasn't meant to be brought up ever again. 

Not that he was planning to. No no, not a chance. Richie avoided confrontation, he wouldn't go looking for it! Not intentionally anyway, his mouth sometimes ran off without him, but that was irrelevant right now. 

What did matter was that his heart was trying to jump out of his throat at the mere thought of having Eddie in the same car, now that Richie was painfully aware that he was completely and utterly in love with the boy. And the way he had looked at him while complimenting his voice was just so... 

Richie's heart did a flip or three as Eddie's front door opened. He felt as if he was caught doing something he shouldn't be doing. The boy stored his thoughts away in the back of his mind for later revision, focussing on the stature that stepped out of the door.

"Yes, bye mom! I know! I won't! Yeah okay! Bye mom!"

Eddie's backpack was hanging off his back by both straps, his red shirt making his cheeks look pink and his hair in that perfect wavy halo around his head. It was just so inherently and completely Eddie, the way his eyebrows furrowed and he rolled his eyes at his mother, the way he pulled his backpack up by the straps, the way his nose scrunched up as he stepped into the chilly breeze, ...  
Richie's heart started doing an impromptu flash mob as he watched the other stomp over to his car. The boy's face resembled a perfect storm cloud, as per usual and no sight had ever looked better to Richie.

"Well good morning sunshine, looks like someone slept great, dreamt of me, didn't you, my Eddie spaghetti?"  
Richie teased, a sparkly grin on his face, also as per usual. This was their morning routine. Eddie would get in all grumpy because of his mother and Richie would make a joke and make him laugh so he forgot about it all. Yet Richie couldn't help but wonder. 

What if Eddie wanted him to be serious every once in a while? 

To talk about their home situation (they both knew something was up there)? About the future?  
_"Do a serious one, I like your voice when you're singing like you mean it."_  
Eddie's words flashed through his mind and he couldn't help but wonder. What if they applied to more than just his singing?

Richie was quickly pulled out of his reverie by a stomp to his arm.  
"Don't call me that!" Eddie grumbled.   
Richie's grin, that had faltered for just a second there, returned full force.  
"Aw but Eds, you love my nicknames!" He replied.  
"Oh fuck you Richie.." Eddie mumbled, a reluctant smile forming on his features, before shoving his backpack into the taller's arms.  
Richie continued grinning, but didn't say anything. He turned around and put Eddie's backpack next to his own while the other buckled his seatbelt.

"Ready to go?" Richie asked.  
"As ready as I'll ever be on a monday morning." Eddie replied, sinking lower in his seat and resting his face against the window of the car.  
Richie just chuckled. His friend was not a morning person and for some reason that just made him love the other even more. 

He reached to turn the radio to the neutral broadcasting station they usually listened to in the mornings instead of his 'favourites' playlist that would turn on when he started the car, but Eddie interrupted him.  
"No wait, please leave it?" He said, turning his head slightly to give him a puppy eyed look. (Richie was pretty sure he didn't even do those eyes on purpose, they just turned to puppy mode whenever he wanted something...)  
Richie hesitated for a moment, unsure whether he was comfortable letting someone hear his favourite music. It said a great deal about him as a person and he usually didn't let anyone hear it out of fear. Of what exactly, he didn't know, but sharing his music felt vulnerable. Maybe the moment in the drama room had changed something after all, because instead of changing the station, Richie dropped his hand back down.

He started the car and _In between days_ by the cure started playing. Richie didn't make eye contact with Eddie. He wasn't too sure if the other would notice, but a good part of his playlist was subconsciously linked to him some way or another.

Which he actually only noticed himself now that the boy in question was actually listening to it... 

Not too long after they left the house, Richie started softly humming along to the song, soon relaxing in the comfortable familiarity of his car and the routine of driving. He almost forgot Eddie was even in there with him. Almost. 

He hummed along with a few songs, but when _Teenage Blues_ came on, Richie couldn't help but sing along.

"Gone away for a while  
All the familiar places change  
But you're the same and so am I  
What will I be without you?"

He tapped along to the drums on the steering wheel.  
"Try and find a frame of mind  
Where you can be you in the modern age  
Call me up and I'll remind"

"I will always be there For you, you, you  
I will always be there For you, you, you  
I will always be there for you  
When you got the teenage blues  
Ooh, ooh, ooh  
I will always be there!"  
Richie sang, bopping his head along.

"How'd you find movin' on?  
Honestly, I'm still a little scared  
'Cause you were here, and now you're gone  
What will I be without you?  
When you're done, play that song  
Remember the days where we didn't care  
Never mind, it won't be long  
To show you know"

He took a deep breath.  
"I will always be there For you, you, you  
I will always be there For you, you, you

I will always be there for you  
When you got the teenage blues  
Ooh, ooh, ooh  
I will always be there!"  
Richie shook his curls along with the guitar (headbanging would probably be considered a health hazard when driving, so he just barely refrained from doing that). When the song finished Richie smiled softly to himself.

He glanced sideways at Eddie, who was unexpectedly looking at him with what could only be described as a dreamy smile. When Richie turned his head, the other seemed to be startled and quickly turned away and... was that a blush? Richie turned his attention back to the road, trying to process what he'd seen. He wasn't sure if he had imagined that smile or not.

When he glanced over at Eddie again, the other was leaning his head against the window like he had when they had just left the house. Must have been his imagination then?

Richie focused on the road in front him. No matter how fast his heart was going and how much he wanted to keep staring at Eddie, he didn't want to get them both killed just because he was too in love with his passenger.  
...  
That still felt a bit weird to think out loud... Was that a thing, thinking out loud? Oh well. In any case, it still felt weird to admit to himself. A crush was one thing, but love? Next level for sure...

It didn't take long for Richie to start humming along to the music again. They drove the full half hour to school like that, Richie humming softly and tapping on the wheel, Eddie leaning against the window, a comfortable silence between them. It was nice to just... not speak every once in a while. Weird and new, for sure, but nice.

When they arrived at the school, Richie parked in his usual parking spot, but he didn't immediately turn off the engine. He wanted to let the song finish first. And well, he also, maybe, just a little, wanted to spend some more time alone with Eddie.

"So what do you think?" He asked. Richie was actually quite anxious of the reply. His music taste kind of reflected who he was as a person, so if Eddie hated his music then that would feel as a personal rejection, really...  
He didn't have much time to overthink it since Eddie already replied the second he had uttered the question.  
"I love it. I mean, I never like figured you would be into this kind of music but now I hear it I think it really suits you and it's really nice how the guitars and drums and voices and stuff sound together and blend I guess and like those were only a few songs so I can only imagine what the rest sounds like." Eddie rambled, slightly quicker than usual.  
There was a second before he added: "Thanks by the way. For letting me listen."

Richie didn't really know how to respond to that, but he didn't have any time to overthink it. A loud knocking at his window was followed by a hearty giggle as Richie got startled out of his mind, cursing loudly.

"Good morning losers! How long are you still staying in there? Planning to grow some roots? " A female voice yelled, as to be heard through the window, smiling at them both.

Richie's face pulled into a lopsided grin at the sight of Beverly. He turned off his engine and stepped out of the car, grabbing her and kissing the top of her head.  
"Well good morning to you too miss Molly Ringwald, I see you still enjoy scaring poor boys shitless!" He said to her.  
Richie opened the back car door and pulled out their backpacks, handing Eddie his as the boy walked over to the other side of the car.

Richie locked his car and then they started towards the entrance of the school, Richie back to being his yelling joking self and Eddie as loud and quick as ever. If Beverly had even noticed their uncharacteristic quietness earlier, she didn't mention it.

And so, another week had started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used "Teenage blues" by Vistas. Truly worth a listen XD


	7. Class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Gooood morning! You look like you just caught me with your mom and feel the need to drink bleach!" Richie said, grin as bright as ever.
> 
> "Do you never get enough of those terrible mom jokes?" Eddie groaned, dropping himself in the car and shutting the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo
> 
> Welcome to another chapter! I did not have any inspiration for the title, but so be it XD

As the week advanced, their morning routine changed significantly. The next day, Richie had wanted to change the station again, assuming Eddie wanting to listen to his music was a one time thing, but the other had stopped him. 

Then Wednesday, he had already changed the station before the other got in and guess what? Eddie had asked to listen to 'your music' instead. It was truly making Richie feel things. 

Butterflies mainly, but also a tad bit of nervousness and vulnerability. He had the impression that Eddie got to know him better after every song. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, just a little scary.

Another thing that had changed was the interactions between them. Instead of talking about nothing just to be talking, they were quiet most of the time (safe for Richie's humming and the attempt at cheering Eddie up every morning). It was really pleasing and Richie found himself looking forward to waking up every day so he could be alone with Eddie. It was thirty minutes of pure bliss. 

He had also noticed Eddie looking at him more often, just out of the corners of his eyes. Every time he turned his head, however, Eddie was looking through the windshield or his own window. Or so it seemed at least.

Richie was pretty sure it wasn't his imagination. Despite his terrible eyes, his peripheral vision wasn't too sucky and he had definitely seen Eddie look away when he turned his head. Multiple times even, but he decided to just let it be.

Today was friday. That meant drama and afterwards drinks at one of their houses, probably his considering it was going to be empty as usual. Richie was excited in that 'I'm not sure if I'm happy or want to run away screaming' kind of way. That morning he had put on a playlist with more upbeat songs. Fridays were the best days and no one was going to change his mind about that.

He pulled up in Eddie's driveway. Richie grinned as the boy came out of the house at his honking (the noise annoyed Sonya to no end, which meant she let Eddie out of the house quicker just to make Richie stop, which meant she wouldn't have as much time to make his Spaghetti boy sad) and then stomped over as usual. He was wearing his overals and that yellow shirt that made him look like the little ray of sunshine he was. It had to be Richie's favourite outfit of all time.

"Gooood morning! You look like you just caught me with your mom and feel the need to drink bleach!" Richie said, grin as bright as ever.

"Do you never get enough of those terrible mom jokes?" Eddie groaned, dropping himself in the car and shutting the door.

"Oh no my dear, I can never get enough!"  
Richie smirked and leaned closer to Eddie.  
"Which, coincidentally, is exactly what you mother said when-"

He got cut off harshly by Eddie stomping his stomach, making a surprised 'oompf' leave his lips.  
"Oh my fucking god, you're so disgusting what is wrong with you!" Eddie shouted, his cheeks a bright red.

Richie broke into laughter, still slightly breathless.  
Eddie tried to grumble, but eventually he laughed along with Richie. The mood in the car lightened almost instantly.

"So not funny Trashmouth." Eddie grumbled, but he wasn't able to hide his smile.  
Richie smiled right back, sparkly white teeth on full display, before starting the car and driving away from the Kaspbrak residence. His nerves were definitely verging more into happy territory now.

"So how have you been doing with the play?" Richie asked when they reached the big road, keeping his eyes on it.

Eddie shrugged lightly.  
"Oh you know, the usual. I've already memorised the words, now I've just got to work on the delivery and the chemistry with the others. I really want to get it right." He acted as if it was totally normal to have an entire Shakespearean play memorised in a week time.

"Yeah same here, I'm really excited for tonight." Richie smiled, still looking at the road. Eddie might be abnormal, but so was Richie. Now he thought of it, their insane memorisation capabilities and perfectionism was probably the reason miss Boeck had picked them for the lead roles. 

They didn't say much after that, falling back into a comfortable silence.

When they arrived at school, Bev was there, greeting them with her lopsided smile and a loud 'hey losers!'. Richie threw an arm around her neck and started talking about all kinds of nonsense while Eddie trailed next to him, holding on to the straps of his backpack. 

The whole scene was so trusted and familiar that Richie couldn't help but feel glad for everything he had, which might be corny, but fuck whoever decided that corny wasn't cool. He was going to be the corniest motherfucker alive if he felt like it!  
Richie couldn't wipe the grin of his face for the rest of the day.

Richie sat trough his lessons of the day impatiently. During chemistry Eddie came to their usual table and Richie pretty much lit up like a Christmas tree.  
"Eds! Eddie Spaghetti! Have you come to my rescue? You know I almost blew myself up last week??"  
He actually did quite well, but that was beside the point right now. What mattered was that Eddie wanted to be his lab partner again and Richie couldn't believe how happy he was from such a little thing.

"Shut up before I change my mind..." Eddie said, scowling at Richie and sitting down in the chair.  
"Awww no, don't leave me again!" Richie pouted, making puppy eyes at his friend.

Eddie just rolled his eyes and straightened up as their professor chose that exact moment to enter the room.

"Hello kids. I hope you had a great midday. Or not. See if I care."  
He let out a long painstaking sigh and then started to explain what they were supposed to be doing that day.

"God he looks like he's constantly smelling a fart..." Richie whispered to Eddie. The shorter snorted, quickly holding his hand in front of his mouth.

"What was that?"  
Their teacher asked, turning away from the board and arching one of his strangely thin eyebrows as he stared around the class.  
When no one made a move to reply, he gave a suspicious glare at Richie before turning back towards the blackboard. 

Wow that was offensive. 

Totally spot on and he had every right to be suspicious after previous misbehaviours, but still! This was prejudice!

Richie leaned closer to Eddie and made a soft farting sound for only him to hear. Eddie bursted out into giggles at that, trying his hardest not to make any noise, but their teacher had turned around already. He was like a shark that had smelled blood or something, but then with fun... Scary.  
Eddie managed to pull himself together a tad, but he was still shaking with laughter.  
Instead of turning to Eddie, their teacher instead turned towards Richie. (Which again, totally spot on, but prejudiced!)

"Tozier. I will not have you messing around in my classroom. If I hear another noise caused by you, your sorry ass will spend the evening in detention."  
The man said, walking closer to their table with every word, ending up right in front of Richie's face, ignoring the still shaking Eddie.  
"Understood?"  
He basically spat that last word, his humid garlicy breath wafting into Richie's face, but the boy didn't even do as much as flinch. Instead he threw a wide exaggerated grin at the man, holding in his breath.  
"Capiche! Won't happen again, sir! Not a sound, sir!"

When the teacher walked back over to the front of the room, Richie felt a shiver run down his spine. He could almost hear the nonexistant robes swish behind him... Really not a pleasant man. On the other side, his threat was successful.  
Richie didn't utter a peep until the class was over. He might have good grades (because he happened to be good at chemistry, Snape aka Tortel would love to fail him if he could), but he didn't have any suicidal tendencies. And well he really, really didn't want to miss drama.

After class ended, Richie vented.  
"Dude! That guy shouldn't be wearing slacks and ugly chekered shirts! The only thing that would look remotely appropriate on him would be black robes and crow feathers or some shit! Like honestly! And the way he gets all up in your personal space with his gross ass garlic breath..." Richie shivered visibly. "Not cool bro! And like, I want to enjoy chemistry and partnering with my little Eddie spaghetti and all" he threw an arm around Eddie and pulled him close for emphasis, "but that man makes it really fucking hard!"

Eddie blushed and pushed Richie away from him with a "fuck you, get off me Trashmouth!" To which Richie dropped his arm back to his side.

"If you wouldn't be making so much noise all the time he wouldn't be so difficult you know." Stan deadpanned.

"I am offended by your true words my good chap, but you know this is who I am! There is no holding back the entirety of what is Richie Tozier!" Richie replied in what started off as a British accent but lost its roots along the way. "Besides, I do dial it down for chemistry don't I?" He looked expectantly at Bill and Eddie (the two that were actually there, unlike Stan, who was like some kind of genius and took advanced math and sciences). The who just kind of avoided looking at him, which said enough. 

"I m-mean you could t-tr-try dialing down the Richie just for ch-chemistry..."  
Bill added, shrugging appologetically at him.

Richie gasped and grabbed his chest in mock hurt. "Et tu Billus?!"

Stan just rolled his eyes and pushed open the door to their English classroom, Bill and Eddie quickly following suit. Richie threw his hands up. "Why does no one understand me!" He whined, before slumping his shoulders and following his friends into the class. Two more hours Richie told himself. Two more hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not really relevant but I felt like sharing:
> 
> The chemistry teacher is my maths teacher. (Names have been changed) He isn't actually like this, but his breath is bad and he was hella mean to me once...   
> I'm petty sonetimes 😑
> 
> so yeah... Sorry for that mister XD  
> 
> 
> Thank you for reading!!


	8. Ben

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Imagine something like  
> Richie: yeah so I had a great friday and like this beautiful sample came up to me, with this pair o' gorgeous hills and asked me to do 'r right in the bum  
> Eddie: *slamming head against the table*  
> Stan: *rolls eyes so far back they get stuck*  
> Bill: *just looks pained and really doesn't want to be here*)

Richie would like to say he kept his cool throughout the last two hours of class, but he would be blatantly lying. He was all nervous energy to the point it seemed like he would physically combust if he were to sit still. Instead, the energy came out in leg bopping, desk tapping and shifting around in his chair. Stan rolled his eyes at him more than usual and Eddie looked about ready to tear his tongue right out of his mouth when he wouldn't stop making obscene comments in the worst Jersey accent ever.  
(Imagine something like  
Richie: yeah so I had a great friday and like this beautiful sample came up to me, with this pair o' gorgeous hills and asked me to do 'r right in the bum  
Eddie: *slamming head against the table*  
Stan: *rolls eyes so far back they get stuck*  
Bill: *just looks pained and really doesn't want to be here*)

On the other hand, his friends were relieved that he was feeling well enough to actually joke around. It had been a while and they'd started to get worried. Not that they would ever tell him that, it would just go to his head and then he would be even more of an insufferable brat. (If that was even possible.)

When they finally got out of geography, Richie was basically bouncing up and down.

Beverly and Stan joined the three at the drama class, Stan having come from an after school conversation with his maths teacher, Beverly just in another class completely. She was in 'Maths and classical languages' which was code for 'pretentious assholes with too much time on their hands'. Though Bev was an exception, she was cool. 

Richie, Bill and Eddie where in 'maths and exact sciences' which is code for 'we had no idea what to pick and this keeps most options open', while Stan was mostly in the same class, except that he had more science and eight hours of math instead of six. Aka 'the guys that have suicidal tendencies and use math to feel the pain of existence'. (Richie really didn't know what had gotten into his friend, but he was killing it, so there's that.)

Richie threw himself around his friends' necks and gave a big smacking kiss to Beverly's face. He knew better than to do that to Stan right after he had a conversation with mister Boom. 

Even the arm was pushing it, but hey, pushing it was what Richie did best.

Richie let go of Stan at the glare he got and focused his attention on Bev instead, hanging around her shoulders and crowding her space like a particularly gangly boa constrictor.  
"How was Linden?" He asked her with a smirk, making a barely noticable blush dust her cheeks in the cutest way. She had the hots for that teacher and he knew it, but the rest didn't (safe for maybe Stan because he always seemed to know everything, the weirdo). Richie didn't actually have the teacher for any of his classes, but they talked once and he could see where she was coming from. The guy was hilarious, had a crazy life, eminated calmth and he could really tell a story. Plus, he had dimples, which is quite the big plus.  
Not Richie's type though.

" _English_ was great thank you." She replied, smiling back at Richie with that subtle glimmer in her eyes that told him she would not hesitate to bash his head in if he dared to say another word. He wouldn't dare really. She was pretty much the only one that knew about everything going on in his love life (or lack thereof), so she had way too much dirt on him.

When they entered the drama room, Richie and Bev leading the way, they found someone already there. It was a kid that clearly hadn't lost his baby fat yet, even though the outlines of what was going to be a very handsome man were visible under the pudginess of his cheeks. He had a very friendly face Richie found to be vaguely familiar. 

"Friar Laurence is that you?" He asked, squinting at the boy, still not letting go of Beverly and holding her closer than would be normally considered comfortable with a friend. But well, she considered him her gay disaster friend (which he kind of was but he actually did like girls too, just less) and they were consenting adults, so it was fine.

The boy in front of them glanced at Richie's arm, the rare pink dusting on Bev's face and the murderous smile she was serving (which could easily be mistaken for a loving smile from an outsider's point of view), and seemed to draw his conclusions from that, judging by the way he quickly looked away and shrunk in his chair.

Aha. Another secret admirer of Beverly's. Richie had gotten quite accustomed to the amount of boys that were into his number one best friend (shared first spot). They always seemed to assume Bev and him were a thing for some reason, which he liked abusing. Might be mean, but hella fun. 

He just grinned and left another wet kiss on her cheek before quickly ducking out of slapping reach. Beverly just shook her head and turned her attention to the (at this point slightly uncomfortable) boy.

"Oh hey, it's Ben!"  
Bev exclaimed, her smile turning genuine.  
"Don't you sit behind me in English?  
She asked, walking over to where the boy was sitting.  
Richie watched as his face lit up and his eyes went all dreamy.  
He exchanged looks with Stan.

_Another one bites the dust_ Richie grinned.  
_Are you even surprised anymore?_ Stan replied with his eyes, eyebrow raised.  
_Not really, but it's still entertaining to watch._ Richie conveyed with a shrug and half a smirk.  
_Whatever makes you happy_ Stan's smile said.

They both turned back to the couple on the chairs with a smile and then walked over simultaneously, settling next to Beverly. Bill and Eddie followed suit and pulled in chairs to form a circle. They still had an hour to kill.

Usually it was just the five of them in the drama room, but Bev knew this kid and he actually seemed to be pretty cool.

"So, Ben, tell me. You're new here, what school did you use to go to?" Bev asked.

"I'm actually from the school on the other side of town." Ben replied, looking away from her with red cheeks. Richie could immediately tell that was the first time someone asked him that, but like, that was the school where the smart people went.

"Holy shit, he's a genius!" Richie exclaimed, stomping Eddie against his arm and laughing in disbelief, which earned him a "Don't hit me dickwad."  
"It's really nothing like that..." Ben mumbled, looking at his shoes.  
"Well I mean you have to be if you're in Marsh's class! She's the prime example isn't she?" Richie replied, loud as ever, motioning wildly at her.

"Oh shut up Richie." Bev laughed, shaking her head. "Why did you switch though Ben?" She said, turning her attention back to the boy.  
"Oh well..." Ben went a bright red.  
"I'd really rather not say..."

"Aw come on, that's no fun Bennie boy!" Richie pouted, putting his elbows on his knees and leaning in.  
"Did you mess up real bad? Kill someone? Set the school on fire?" He questioned, keeping his face straight.

"No no nothing like that!" The boy exclaimed, sinking lower into his chair and hiding his face with a hand.  
"It's just... The library is closer to this school and I didn't have any friends on my previous one anyway so I figured why not." He mumbled, hand covering his eyes now in embarrassement.

The words made Richie burst into laughter, which quickly made Eddie laugh too. Bill and Stan couldn't help but giggle. Only Bev managed to keep her laughter under control, sparing at least a little part of Ben's dignity.  
"You're such a nerd my dude!" Richie managed to exclaim between bouts of laughter, leaning over Bev to slap Ben on the shoulder. 

"You'll fit right in."

The friends introduced themselves to what was soon to be the newest addition to their group. After the basic things like names and studies were out of the way, they just joked around a bit and got to know one another.  
Bev and Bill talked with Ben about things like the history project that he seemed to be doing for fun, Bill's mapping of the sewers and his ideas to better the infrastructure, and Bev's clothing designs. Richie and Eddie were too caught up arguing about useless shit to really contribute anything to the conversation, while Stan listened in on all their talks, overhearing everything as usual.

Where Ben seemed a little bit uncomfortable at first, he fit in with the others fairly quickly. The hour had passed in no time and the rest of the drama club started pouring in slowly, but surely. Their circle expanded to allow the other people to join them, taking up quite a big part of the room.

Miss Boeck entered the room and couldn't help but smile at the sight. The most important thing for the succes of their play was that they all got along together, so their acting wouldn't feel forced. Right now, seeing them like this was a promising thing.

They still had five minutes till they started, so miss Boeck let them talk for a while longer, opting to check her schedule and get out her stuff for drama (a script, red pen and a whistle), only interrupting the chatting at five sharp, with the shrill sound of the whistle (which made the biggest part of the group flinch as usual).

"All right children! It is time to start!"  
She exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

Richie smiled.  
Time for another drama class!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Losers are coming together slowly but surely!
> 
> Also not really relevant but I felt like sharing XD:
> 
> Linden is based on my Dutch teacher (super cool guy)  
> And Boeck is based on my English teacher! She's really cool and I kept her identity completely intact :))


	9. Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The game proceeded like that for a while. After the first few runs everyone got the hang of it and started being way too competitive. It was hilarious to see people almost flying across the room, screeching like mad pterodactyls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)) My boys getting along

They all picked up their respective chair and settled in the middle of the stage, looking at miss Boeck expectantly. The whistle meant they were going to do some active games today, which was always something to look forward to.

"Okay! Today we will play games. We'll start with an easier one that I call Can I Have Your Seat. It's pretty simple. One person stands in the middle and goes around the circle asking people if they can have their seat. Every time they ask, the other people look up at one person in the circle. If you make eye contact with someone, you have to run and switch seats, the only twist is that the person in the middle also has to make a run for it." She explained, looking around the circle to make sure everyone understood.  
"Try not to kill each other and don't use brute force, alright?" She asked in that way that really didn't leave any space for arguing. Everyone nodded. Miss Boeck assigned one of the newbies as the first to ask the question and took her chair out of the circle, sitting in it herself on the sidelines to watch and make sure everything went well.

Richie felt a surge of excitement as the girl in the middle asked the first person, and his eyes immediately locked with a small boy on the other side of the room. The boy's eyes widened. It didn't take him long to jump up and sprint to the other side of the circle when he saw Richie was already half across. The dark haired boy made it to the other's chair without a problem, having long legs and all that, but the boy wasn't that lucky. The girl had already taken his seat. Richie laughed out loud as the boy slumped his shoulders and sighed.

"Sorry my dude, better luck next time!"  
He exclaimed with a shit eating grin.

The game proceeded like that for a while. After the first few runs everyone got the hang of it and started being way too competitive. It was hilarious to see people almost flying across the room, screeching like mad pterodactyls.

Then Eddie ended up in the middle. Richie looked up after the boy in the middle asked Stan if he could have his seat, and instantly made eye contact with Bev. Without hesitation he ran. He was at about the same distance from the empty chair as Eddie was. They had a short moment of eye contact in which they both saw that the other wasn't planning on backing down if it could be avoided. They sprinted.  
The boys were neck to neck the entire time, but with his long legs, Richie managed to sit down just that little quicker than Eddie, causing the shorter to end up in his lap, unable to stop anymore.  
Richie automatically closed his arms around the other's waist and pulled him closer to keep him from falling off, Eddie's hands landed on top of Richie's and his back collided with the taller's chest. All of this happened in the span of two seconds.

After they landed in the chair together the group went quiet for a second, still processing what exactly had happened. After those moments of stunned silence Bev decided to pipe up.  
"Awe, Romeo and Juliet being couple goals!" She laughed (probably revenge for the teasing from earlier), causing the room to burst out into laughter as well. Richie flushed a bit and Eddie went completely red, buth neither made a move to pull away.

Richie's heart was beating loud and fast in his chest, he was pretty sure Eddie could feel it against his back. The scent of Eddie's detergent mixing with the scent of his wild rose shampoo and hand sanitiser filled his nose.  
Eddie's waist was tiny, but Richie could feel that his stomach was actually quite toned and hard with muscles. His back as well from the feel of it. Richie hadn't really believed when Eddie told him yoga could make you gain muscle, but he had to retract that statement. The touch wasn't much but it was just enough to make Richie feel lightheaded. Not to speak of Eddie's hands on his own. They weren't particularly small, just average, but on Richie's giant hands they just felt so delicate and tiny, he just wanted to take them in his own and keep them safe and wow he should not be thinking this right now...

Miss Boeck stepped into the circle of laughing children, a smile on her own face as well.  
"You're all mixed up pretty well now, not all sticking to your best friends. For the next one I will have you all pair up with the person on your left. Richie and Eddie you can team up." She said.  
Richie wanted to do nothing more than to pull his friend even closer (bad thought Richie), but he didn't give into that particular instinct. Instead, he dropped his arms to his side, giving Eddie the chance to stand up before doing so himself.

Richie looked up, making eye contact with the brunet. Their faces were both red, which made Richie feel slightly better about his intense reaction to Eddie's close proximity.  
"Guess we're teaming up then!" He said, showing an attempt at a grin.  
"Looks like it yeah." Eddie replied with an awkward smile of his own.

They turned their attention back to the teacher to listen to the explanation of the next game.  
"I call this next game Expressive Moulding. One of you will be the sculptor and the other a ball of clay, starting in fetal position on the ground. I will give a subject and then the sculptor has to try and shape their clay into their interpretation of that subject. Now the twist is that no one is allowed to speak." She concluded her explanation with a grin. Miss Boeck obviously enjoyed watching them all struggle like that, she wasn't doing much to hide it.  
"The subject is despair and the person with the biggest hands starts!" She added before walking back to her place on the sidelines to watch the mess that was about to unfold as people tried to understand other people's expressions.  
It was a fun exercise, though also a hard one.

Richie looked around at everyone putting their hands together and then looked at Eddie.  
"Get on the ground my dear! We all know who's size is superior here." He said with a wink, earning him a punch to the arm and a red Eddie, which honestly made his heard do a couple flips, because it was just too goddamn CUTE.  
"Oh I didn't realise we were comparing the size of our incompetence." Eddie replied, with a raised brow.  
Richie laughed while the shorter boy just made a 'hmpf' sound, sat down on the ground and curled up.

"Awee what a cute little doughball you are!" Richie laughed, hanging over his friend.

"No talking Richie!" The teacher reprimanded him.

Richie pressed his lips together, but the glimmer of a smile was still present in his eyes in stark contrast with Eddie's scowl.

He cleared his throat. What had Boeck said again? Despair? That was interesting... How could he show despair.  
Richie's brow furrowed as he was thinking. He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and looked down at Eddie. Then he had an idea.

He opened his mouth, about to tell Eddie to move, but then realised that they weren't supposed to. He pulled his bottom lip back between his teeth and hunched down next to his friend. His clay, if you may.

Richie gently pulled Eddie's leg backwards, leaving his second one bended. He put his hands against Eddie's back (god how had he never noticed that his soft looking friend wasn't actually that soft??) and pushed his belly flat against the floor, applying as little pressure as he could, not wanting to make this feel forced.  
Then he moved on to the arms. Richie moved in front of Eddie and tried to explain how he wanted his arms to be, but much like sometimes happened in normal conversation when Richie struggled with explaining an idea, he didn't manage to bring the point across. He even did a whole seal impression, which only caused Eddie (and the group next to them) to laugh. Which was cute, but not what he was trying to achieve.

Not sure what else to do, Richie decided to just move Eddie in the way he wanted him to stay. To do so, he needed to stand over Eddie and wrap his arms around his chest. He did exactly that, ignoring the way his heart sped up once again. Eddie luckily got the gist, because he put his hands where Richie wanted them. The taller boy took a bit of distance to look. He wasn't too sure though... Maybe on the elbows? Richie pointed at his own and then at Eddie's. The other luckily understood this time and let himself sink down a little bit lower, leaning on his elbows instead of his hands. Richie nodded. Better.  
He reached out his one hand, the fingers extended but slightly limp as if gripping at something that just slipped away. Eddie did the same and absolutely nailed it.

Then the most difficult part. Expression.  
The curly haired boy sat down in front of Eddie, crossing his legs. He chewed his lip, trying to think how best to convey despair...

He knew Eddie could pull his eyebrows at the edges down really well, so maybe that?  
Richie pointed at his eyebrows and then pulled the edges down, pointing at Eddie to do the same. The other struggled a little bit at first, but managed to get the eyebrows how Richie wanted them. (The expressions he made were really cute. Damn.)  
Then the taller opened his mouth as if he was screaming in pain and motioned at Eddie to try it.  
Richie looked at the expression when Eddie did as he asked and frowned. It somehow wasn't quite right... He reached out and pulled Eddie's mouth corners down just a tad. Yes. Yes that was it! He smiled brightly, completely missing how pink Eddie's cheeks had suddenly gone as he turned towards their teacher, waving her over so Eddie wouldn't have to keep the pose too long.

"Oh wow well done you two! You can sit back in the circle with the others who've finished. Still no talking though." She said. She looked at the whole expression once again and nodded.  
"Very well done indeed." She mumbled to herself with a smile.  
It was so rare of her to give a compliment without also having some form of criticism, it felt as if they had just won the lottery.

Richie couldn't keep the shiny bright grin of his face at her words. Validation wasn't why he tried so hard in drama class, but it still felt so good. When she turned around, Eddie dropped the pose and grinned back at Richie who reached his hand out to the other to help him of the ground. The boy took the hand and let his friend pull him up. Once again they didn't let go of one another immediately when Eddie was back on his feet, instead just standing there like a couple idiots beaming at each other.  
Only when they heard someone clear their throat in the circle of chairs, did they let go and sit back down with the others. None of the two stopped smiling though.  
This day really couldn't get any better for Richie. Not a chance.


	10. Mike

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello!  
> School has starter again so I will start posting at 10pm instead of at 4am XD
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this little bit!

They weren't actually going to start on the play that day, which Richie thought was kind of a bummer. What they did do, was splitting up into groups for the behind the scenes stuff. All of the 11th year students and Mike took a job on them since they had already seen how everything worked the year before. The theatre club had consisted of only last year students, the five friends, and Mike back then. Somehow there were surprisingly little people from Mike's year that wanted to act (there was really only Mike) and so he had mostly hung around the last year students. This wasn't that much of a problem then, but right now it meant that the responsibility fell completely to people with less experience than was usually the case.  
The year before, they'd been the youngest, now the responsibility for the succession of the show lay on their shoulders. Luckily, there were double as many newbies as the year before. They were also mostly boys, hence that Juliet was going to be played by Eddie.

The splitting of tasks went pretty easily. As Richie had expected, he was in charge of writing the music. Eddie would take care of the more technical sound stuff, like microphones. Bev (of course) did costume and prop design. Bill would do stage placement and timing stuff, like, when someone needed to be on stage and do costume changes and all that. Richie knew there was a specific term for that, but he couldn't really be bothered to find out what it was. Ben apparently knew a lot about lights, so that was going to be his job.  
Mike had a great physique considering he was a football player, so he took choreography onto himself. Surprisingly enough, though, Stan joined him in that.

Richie raised his eyebrows as Stan offered to help Mike come up with a dance routine. Sure, he was a great dancer, but Richie would have never thought that his friend would willingly dance without being in the comfort of a big group. He did say it was because there were no other jobs left and it was the only thing he didn't suck at, but Richie knew that wasn't true for a fact. Dude was great at planning stuff and he was also not too shabby of a sound technician. He didn't know why Stan was lying, but whatever his reasons were, Richie didn't mind that much.

Everyone split into groups.  
Richie got two newbies. One to play violin and one for the drums. The only thing they were going to do was play the music when it was finished, since Richie wasn't that great at drums and didn't play the violin. They were just going to record the music and use it during the show, so they would have enough actors.  
Eddie and Ben got three newbies each to teach everything. They gathered the ones that were okay with not acting (and honestly weren't that good at it either) so that was a big plus.  
Bev gathered a whole lot of people for the costumes. A big part of them could actually sew, but Richie was pretty sure that there were some secret admirers in there too. The people that were left without a job at the end would have to help making props. She needed as many hands as she could find to bring her ideas to life.  
Bill took one newbie that would have to do everything on her own during the times that he was on stage. It was a big responsibility. 

Richie smiled to himself.  
Bill had been the padawan only last year and now he was already a master! Hopefully it worked out well. He and the girl, Audra, would have to work very well together and planning was crucial. Plus, you had to be able to lead people and give orders without coming across as a dick. Richie didn't envy him at all when it came to that job. He'd probably ruin it.  
And then last but not least! Stannie and Mike.  
They would figure out a choreography first and then teach the rest of the group.

Richie was really excited. Not only would he be able to act, he'd also have an excuse to be busy with music more than he already was! Not that he really needed an excuse, but it would make him feel less guilty about not doing other stuff. Not that that stopped him in any way... But yeah. Principles.

When they had finally devided themselves into groups and everyone got to know one another, it had already become eight. 

"Alright children! Everyone knows their respective tasks now, don't neglect the script and have a good weekend. I'll see you all next Wednesday. We will start on act one then, so make sure you know your words." Miss Boeck said. She clapped in her hands twice and then motioned for all of them to get on with it.

Eveyone put their chair back where it usually was, gathered their stuff and phone, and made their way out.

After getting some books out of his locker, Richie made his way to the front entrance to wait for his friends. Bill and Eddie were already there.

"Hey my guys, who's down to get high?"  
Richie asked his friends, draping his arm over Eddie's shoulders with a grin.  
The shorter boy sighed but didn't shake off the arm.  
"I got brownies too Eds!" He added, poking the others soft freckled cheek.  
"Don't call me that asshole." Eddie replied, shoving the hand out of his face, but giving a small smile nonetheless.

Richie knew Eddie didn't like smoking. He wasn't opposed to weed in general, because it didn't actually do much damage, but the smoke didn't really help with his asthma. Richie always made sure to bake something for his friend so he wouldn't be left out. He'd gotten a lot better at it since he first started, luckily. The first batch ever had been pretty much inedible and a waste of perfectly good weed, but now it was pretty much impossible to taste the difference between a spiked and a regular brownie, or cake, or whatever he felt like baking really.

"I-is your place f-fuh-free?" Bill asked, tilting his head in that cute puppy way that got people to do anything he wanted.  
"Yup! Always is." Richie replied with a grin plastered on his face. He could feel Eddie's eyes on him at the words, but he didn't meet them.

"Hey guys! Is it okay if I invite Ben?"  
A voice at the door piped up. Richie looked over his shoulder at Bev.  
"No problem! The more the merrier, I hope he's okay with us being high of our socks though." Richie replied, giving Ben a nod and a smile.  
Bill and Eddie also hummed in agreement and smiled at Ben.

Ben and Bev joined them in their wait for Stan. Not that they had to wait long, because only thirty seconds later the boy came outside as well, followed by none other than Mike.  
"I hope you all don't mind I invited Mike." Stan stated, not sounding even remotely appologetic.

Beverly responded with a smile.  
"Well I did invite Ben too, so that shouldn't be a problem."

"The only problem would be transportation." Richie grinned, "my car also has her limits you know."

"Oh that's not a problem, I've got a car too."  
Mike said.

Well of course he did.

The group collectively walked onto the parking lot. There were only two cars left, one of which a big ass red pickup truck and one Richie's car.  
"Dude that thing's a monster!" Richie exclaimed. "We could all fit in there with some effort!"

Mike smiled. It was a smile that made the apples of his cheeks seem super round and that showed his straight teeth. Huh, that was pretty cute actually... Richie wondered why he never saw Mike smile before...

Oh well.

"It used to be my dad's. It has space, but takes a lot of gas." He said.

Richie nodded, still admiring the truck.  
"Worth it though."

"W-well how are we going to s-s-split?"  
Bill asked, looking around at the other's.

"I wouldn't mind going with Mike." Stan immediately responded, maybe slightly too quickly, which no one seemed to find strange but Richie for some reason.

He raised an eyebrow at his second number one best friend.  
 _You abandoning me?_ He said with his pout, to which Stan rolled his eyes.  
 _So melodramatic._  
He glanced at Mike and then back at Richie.  
...  
Richie wasn't too sure what that meant...   
If he hadn't known any better, he would've said that Stan had meant _I mean look at him, he's hella hot_ , but there was no logical reason for Stan to say that other than-  
Nah.  
That didn't make a lot of sense.  
...  
Did it?

"I wouldn't mind to go with Mike either, but only if I get to sit next to a window. I'm sick of being in the middle all the time." Bev added, to which Ben immediately stepped forward with an "I'll go as well."

With that, it was decided. Ben, Bev, Mike and Stan would go in the pickup and Bill, Eddie and Richie would take Richie's car.

"Just follow my car, my dude. The road's not too complicated and if you get lost Stan the man will help you out. He knows the way to my house almost as well as I do." Richie said to Mike before starting the walk back to his own car, arm still around Eddie's shoulders. Bill followed behind them, throwing one last glance at Beverly. (He thought he was being slick, but nothing escaped Richie's peripheral vision. Especially not unrequited love.)

They got into the car in their usual spots, Bill behind Richie and Eddie riding shotgun.

Richie started the ignition and put on the radio instead of his playlist. Eddie didn't stop him this time. Somehow sharing his playlists only with Eddie felt really intimate and like some kind of secret between them... It made him feel butterflies.

They drove the way back to his house talking about school stuff (well Bill and Eddie talked, Richie just kind of made dumb jokes) and theatre (where Richie talked more than the other two boys because of his excitement). Mike managed to keep up with Richie's insanely fast driving and they all arrived at Richie's house, that was once again empty. Any other day, that would have bothered him just that tiny bit, today he was glad.

He and Mike parked in the driveway and when they all gathered in front, Richie opened the front door with a flourish.  
"Mi casa es su casa mis amigos!"  
He said in some kind of sickening half Spanish accent that would make their teacher have a stroke.  
Then they all went in, Richie closing the front door behind them. 

Time to have some fun!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more of a filler chapter.   
> Be prepared for tomorrow >:)


	11. The Losers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Pick a spot our dear newcomers! There's space on the big couch and I guess If you squeeze a little the arm chair has space for two!" He said, throwing his legs over the side of the couch and spreading his arms across the side of it. He usually sat like this, but it was also a subtle hint to not take his spot next to his favourite spaghetti boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A longer chapter!   
> Not that much longer, but still!!   
> Enjoy! XD
> 
> (Some kissing in this one and emotional stuffs and weed and alcohol so if that's not your thing, don't read this)

The seven teens piled inside Richie's living room, the five original friends immediately plopped down in their usual spots, Stan on one arm chair, Bev and Bill on the big couch and then Eddie and Richie on the small one. When Mike and Ben just kind of kept standing in the doorway, Richie grinned. 

"Pick a spot our dear newcomers! There's space on the big couch and I guess If you squeeze a little the arm chair has space for two!" He said, throwing his legs over the side of the couch and spreading his arms across the side of it. He usually sat like this, but it was also a subtle hint to not take his spot next to his favourite spaghetti boy.

  
"You can also come sit here of course, but you'll have to sit in my lap and pay with a lil kiss." He added, smooching his lips at the boys. Mike shook his head and looked at Stan, tilting his head. The curly haired boy looked... Wait was that a blush?? Did he look.... (pause for dramatic effect) shy???  
The corner of Richie's mouth raised slightly as he watched his friend. It seemed that maybe he hadn't interpreted Stan's glance earlier wrong after all.

Stan scooted over a bit, making space for the quarterback. Ben just sat down on the couch on Bev's other side.  
"Guess I'm in the middle again after all." She joked, patting Ben's shoulder. (Oh boy, how red he looked now.)

Everyone sat there, just kind of looking at each other. Then Richie jumped up. "By golly what a terrible host I am! I should get you old chaps and my darling Beverly some refreshments!" Richie exclaimed in quite the impressive posh British accent.  
Mike raised his eyebrows to which Stan just shrugged. "He practiced a lot on that accent..."

"Any preferences?" Richie asked, looking around the room.  
"Did your mom get you any of that wild cherry beer from Belgium?" Eddie asked, even though he knew Richie would laugh at him. Which he did, obviously. But hey, that was hardly a respectable beer!

"Yes Eds, my mom did get the pussy beer." He teased the other with a grin.  
"Oh shut the fuck up dickwad, so what if I don't want the piss stuff!" Eddie retorted, cheeks a pretty pink.  
And even though Richie laughed every time Eddie asked, he still asked his mom to send him that beer every month, so he could always give his small friend what he asked for. 

How hadn't he realised he was in love sooner? He didn't know.   
Denial perhaps. 

"Bev I take you want some Jack as usual?" He turned to her now, raising his eyebrows. She nodded. Bev could handle her alcohol real good.  
"And just a regular beer for the rest?" He looked around the room, receiving nods in agreement.

"Alrighty coming right up my dudes!" The dark haired boy exclaimed before making his way to the kitchen. He didn't take long preparing the drinks, putting the bottles and Bev's glass on a tray before heading back.

Richie handed everyone their drink and then plopped down next to Eddie again, letting his arm rest on the edge of the couch behind the other. Everyone started drinking their beer and after a bit, the conversation started flowing. 

New beers got distributed and so it went on. Richie did notice that the conversation remained pretty superficial though, only subjects like school and theatre coming up. But he knew the perfect remedy for that!

"Let's play truth or dare!" He said in a moment of silence, looking around with a grin. Bev imediately jumped on the idea.

"Yes that's a great idea!" She said before adding with a grin: "and get the whiskey for the pussies that don't want to do their part."

Richie grinned.  
"Great idea Bev, y'all should form a circle or something. I'll be right back." He said before disappearing back to the kitchen. He took the Jack Daniels and some more beer too, just in case.

Richie joined the others in a circle on the wooden floor of his living room, sitting between Eddie and Stan. He put the cheap ass whiskey that was more alcohol than something else in the middle and handed everyone a tiny shot glass.  
Bev piped up.  
"Okay guys. The rules are simple. You either tell the truth, do the dare or take a shot. You will probably be judged for taking the shot, but it's still your right to remain silent. Now, we will all start with a shot just so you know the horror that is cheap whiskey with an alcohol percentage of forty."

As soon as she finished talking, she took the bottle and poured them all a shot. They clinked glasses and then all took the shot at the same time. 

The reactions varied. Bev and Richie pretty much kept a straight face, Bev just twitching a little and Richie's eyebrows knitting together. Stan clenched his eyes and pulled up his nose, not appreciating the taste one little bit. 

Mike shook his head once and hissed softly, putting the glass down on the floor with a soft clunk. 

Bill pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at the ceiling, uttering a soft 'fuck'. Ben didn't make any noise, but Richie could see tears coming to his eyes. 

Eddie's reaction was a lot more verbal. He was always one to voice his discontent after all...  
"Fuckety fuck! What the living hell is this shit!" He yelled, practically gagging.  
The rest of the group laughed at that.

Taking a shot obviously wasn't something you wanted to do if it wasn't necessary.

"W-who starts?" Bill asked, looking around the group expectantly. 

"I wouldn't mind." Mike offered after a moment of silence.

The quarterback cleared his throat and then turned towards Stan with that half smile of his that got girls swooning.  
"Stan, truth or dare?" 

Richie could see Stan's cheeks get that tiny bit pinker, though that could also be the beer... But somehow he doubted that.  
"Truth." He replied.  
"What's your favourite colour and describe what the colour is to you." Mike said, almost instantly. He probably had more experience playing truth or dare than the rest of them. Or he just had a lot of questions for their dear Stannie.

Richie laughed. "What is this, an English test?"  
No one really reacted tho the tall boy, turning to Stan to hear his reaction instead.

"Uhm well my favourite colour is green" he thought a bit before continuing, "to me it's the colour of hope, life and calmth. It's the colour of the moss that makes forests quiet and it's also the colour of spring, it's the colour of deep lagoons and the colour of my favourite book, the colour of summer as well and the colour of happy memories."

A soft wonderous silence fell over the room. Damn... Richie hadn't known Stan could be poetic like that...

"Uh... I guess that's what green means to me." Stan added, a bit insecure now that no one reacted.

He looked at Mike, who gave him a wholehearted smile now, and smiled back sheepishly.   
(Yeah something was definitely going on there.)

"Bev. Truth or dare." Stan said, diverting his attention from Mike, breaking the silence.  
All heads snapped in her direction.

"Dare." She said immediately, smiling at Stan. Nothing he could say would make her back down and he knew it. It was a challenge Stan took gladly, a sly grin forming on his narrow face.

"Kiss the boy you're least likely to ever have a relationship with." He said, making the others look around at one another.

"Do you mean like a full blown relationship or do purely physical relationships count too?" She asked, tilting her head slightly, smile still on her face.

"A full on emotionally involved relationship. With love and all that." Stan specified, his grin growing, getting that knowing quality that sometimes unsettled Richie a bit.

Aha. 

Richie didn't even bother looking around anymore. He knew for a fact that was him. They'd been kissing buddies for a while, occasionally going that little bit further, but they both new that they would never be able to fall in love. So yeah, purely physical was possible, emotional, not so much. 

"Aha. And when you say kiss you mean kiss right?" Bev asked Stan, just to be sure, her smile growing even more.

Stan hummed as if he was thinking it over, but Richie could already tell what he was going to say.

"Yes." Stan said now, leaning back on his hands, ready for a spectacle.

Bev full on grinned now, a slightly predatory quality to it, and crawled across the circle. Every eye in the room followed her as she crawled and deposited herself on Richie's lap. He knew for a fact she was putting on a show and he was also fairly certain he'd seen Bill and Ben stare at her ass. 

She was quite the great kisser too and he was a bit touch starved since they had stopped kissing, so he didn't mind one little bit when she removed his glasses and put them down next to them. Richie had this strange feeling that she had ulterior motives, but hey, who was he to deny his beautiful friend?

Richie put his beer down and put his hands on Bev's waist, looking into her eyes for a second. Then she leaned in and kissed him. 

Her familiar taste of cigarettes and strawberry chapstick mingling with the Jack Daniels, the scent of vanilla and her wild berry shampoo surrounded Richie.  
She completely filled his senses in the best way. She felt familiar and soft and trusted.

It was a sloppy kiss with a lot of tongue. They were both slightly drunk, which made coordination a bit difficult, and caused sounds that would have made a sober Richie cringe. Bev's berry and vanilla scent mixing with Richie's collogne, the strawberrry chapstick and Jack mixing with the taste of peanut mnm's that always seemed to linger on Richie's lips.  
Richie's calloused hands moved up under Bev's shirt, onto her back, making goose bumps spread on her skin, a tiny gasp coming from her mouth.  
She tugged at his black curls, which made a low moan escape him in turn.  
They knew how to get a reaction out of each other pretty well by now. Richie faintly wondered if their friends noticed as well, but that thought vanished quickly when Bev softly nibbled on his bottom lip.

They kissed like that for a solid minute, until they were completely breathless.  
They pulled away from each other, a strand of spit breaking between them (which would also have made sober Richie cringe his ass off, but hey, he wasn't sober!). Their pupils were blown wide and their breaths coming out in quick pants.

Richie laughed breathlessly, breaking the heavy silence in the room.

"What a shame we will never fall in love, my darling." He grinned up at Bev.  
"Oh honey, don't tell me." She replied with a giggle, pressing a last chaste kiss to Richie's lips before putting his glasses back on his nose.

Richie looked around the circle, an amused smirk on his face at the reactions.  
Mike and Stan were staring at them with raised eyebrows, their expressions pretty much identical, which was hilarious to Richie for some reason. It crossed his mind that they would make a cute couple, but he was already looking further down the circle. 

Bill was blushing, looking at his hands.  
Ben was looking at Bev with his mouth slightly open, his face bright.

And then Eddie.  
Richie was a bit scared to look at his friend... He was drunk enough to do so anyway, though.

Eddie looked...  
...  
Richie couldn't put his finger on it.  
His mind was a bit clouded with alcohol and Bev, and Eddie seemed to be avoiding his eyes, which made it very hard to read his friend who was otherwise such an open book. He was blushing, that was for sure, and he'd pulled his legs up, resting his chin on them. 

...

Dammit he was cute...

Richie didn't get time to overthink it too much though. Bev raised herself from his lap, gave his hair a ruffle and sat back down in her own spot, a satisfied grin on her face.

"Richie! Truth or dare!" Bev exclaimed, making the boy jump. He'd expected her to pick Ben or Bill or something, not him!

"Oh shit uhh... Dare?" He replied, adjusting his glasses on his nose and visibly gulping.

Bev hummed with a grin that sent chills down his spine. Richie wasn't easily embarrassed, but Bev, admittedly, had a lot of dirt on him.

"So...", Richie already started cringing at her smug smile as his friend continued, "you used to write poetry and I'm pretty sure you still do."  
Richie groaned, knowing where this was going.  
"Recite the last poem you wrote." She concluded with a truly shit eating grin.

Richie hid his face in his hands.   
God dammit Bev. He wasn't planning on taking a shot of the liquor again. That shit was truly nasty and he was no pussy.  
"Well it's not technically poetry if it's lyrics right?" He tried, hoping he wouldn't have to sing his (tragically gay) song.

"A song!", she clapped in her hands with a giddy giggle, "even better!"  
The rest of his friends were also starting to smile now.

Fuck.

Richie knew he wasn't getting out of this, so he didn't try to fight it. He sighed and stood up stretching his stiff legs a bit, then stretching his arms above his head with a groan. He let his arms fall onto his head and blew a curl out of his face, looking up at the ceiling.

"S-sstop s-stalling Richie!" Bill exclaimed with a smile.  
Richie groaned and dragged himself over to the couch where he'd been plucking his guitar the previous evenin. He picked her up and sat down in the circle once again, crossing his legs. He tuned her (which didn't take too much work, but he kind of dragged it out as much as possible) and then exhaled.

His heart was genuinly beating at a hundred beats per minute in his chest right now. He was really glad he didn't get sweaty palms from stress, that would make this whole ordeal that much harder.

"Oh come on Richie." Stan said, when he still didn't start singing. Even he was becoming a bit impatient now.

"Okay okay, fine!" Richie mumbled, chugging his entire beer before gripping his guitar tightly.

He strummed the first chords, closing his eyes once his fingers had found their place. He took a deep shuddering breath and then, he started singing. He sang softly and with all the emotions he could muster. Admittedly, a lot of anxiety was involved, but his drunken state kept the tremor out of his voice.

"Oh baby, oh man  
You're making my crazy, really driving me mad"  
He started, keeping his eyes closed.  
"That's all right with me, it's really no fuss  
As long as you're next to me, just the two of us"  
This was starting to sound like a love song, his friends would know.

Oh god. Okay. He could do this.  
Richie took a deep breath.  
"You're my, my, my, my kind of man  
My, oh my, what a boy  
You're my, my, my, my kind of man  
And I'm down on my hands and knees  
Begging you please, baby, show me your world"  
He finished the chorus with a slight tremor. The lyrics weren't really leaving much to the imagination here... Fuck. He didn't have much time to wofry, the next verse was starting.

"Oh brother, sweetheart  
I'm feeling so tired really falling apart  
And it just don't make sense to me  
I really don't know  
Why you stick right next to me or wherever I go" Richie kept singing. He was too far in it to stop. He was the kind of person that stuck with his choices to the end.

"You're my, my, my, my kind of man  
My, oh my, what a boy  
You're my, my, my, my kind of man  
And I'm down on my hands and knees  
Begging you please, baby, show me your world" He concluded, voice soft and steady again. This was bound to happen some day...

"Uhm yeah, so I'm not really straight." Richie muttered. No one would have heard him if it hadn't been this incredibly quiet.

He didn't open his eyes, didn't dare to, afraid of what he might see. This was obviously a love song for a boy and all his friends were sitting there and he could feel their eyes on him and they would probably have that thing in their eyes that his dad had when he had told him, that little flicker of not understanding, and they would turn on him too and it would be just him and Beverly except if she turned on him too because even though she loved him, peer pressure was still a thing and he would really be all alone then and he really couldn't lose them and he would lose Eddie! He would lose Eddie! No no no no no n-

Richie's eyes flew open, his panicking interrupted by a pair of arms that made their way around his neck. He hadn't even noticed how fast his breathing had gotten, sounding as if he was on the verge of a mental breakdown... (Which he kind of was, really...)  
He blinked, completely disoriented, and made eye contact with Stan, barely ten centimetres from his face. His best friend gave him a soft look that said _Don't get into you head._

He let him go and made a little motion with his chin, telling Richie to look around. 

So he did.

Richie made eye contact with his friends, one after another.  
Mike gave him an encouraging smile, Ben had a really soft smile on his face, Bev was grinning at him, the proudest expression on her face. Bill was smiling as if he really wasn't suprised and then Eddie.

Eddie was staring him right in the face, his doe eyes wide and sparkly, lips parted ever so slightly.  
The shorter boy looked surprised, but not in a bad way, not as if he wanted to spit him in the face and run off. No, there was something in there besides acceptance, but no digust. Richie couldn't really put his finger on what it was that he saw in those eyes.

Richie pulled his eyes away before he started drowning and shook his head in disbelief. 

"You.. You guys aren't mad?" He asked quietly, voice insecure.

"Dude, me and S-Stan have known since kindergarten", Bill laughed, "we're not stuh- st- stupid, you know..."

Stan grinned and shrugged. "You weren't so subtle about that crush on Jonathan in first year. Six year old Richie couldn't keep his mouth shut about anything, let alone a crush."

Richie laughed and looked around again, focussing especially on the new additions to the group. "You guys are really chill with this?"

Mike laughed and shrugged. "I mean, I'm not one to judge. I'm gay if you hadn't noticed. That's why I usually hang out by myself."

Richie laughed in disbelief, relief seeping into him.

"So that's why you avoid the chearleaders?!" 

Mike shrugged with a nod.

"Damn that's a shame, you could get pretty much anyone..." Richie pondered.

The glance Mike threw at Stan clear at the words didn't escape him.

"I'm gay too." Stan deadpanned.

Richie's mouth fell open.  
Oh. Oh!  
That made so much sense.  
Okay no he could hit his head on a brick wall for even doubting that now that he thought about it. But then again, he hadn't dared hope for his friends to understand after the way his parents had reacted to the news.

"Oh my god Richie why do you even l-look surprised, he's like the perfect example of the s-st-stylish s-sassy gay friend!" Bill exclaimed (he was also slightly frustrated about the amount of times he had said s, but that's beside the point).

"I know! Oh my god..." Richie groaned, but he was unable to wipe his smile of his face. He took Stan in a headlock and rubbed his knuckles on his scalp, making the shorter let out an undignified squeek.

"Let me go you gay disaster!" Stan exclaimed, pushing against his friend.   
"Bisexual technically!" Richie grinned, letting his shorter friend go nonetheless.

This was such a relief. 

They didn't hate him!

Hell turns out almost half of the group was actually even more gay than he was!

Damn that felt good.

Now he kind of wished he had told them earlier.

"Okay I don't know about you guys, but I really feel like getting high now." Richie looked around, his friends just nodding. Even Eddie full on nodded now.

"Y'all go to the roof, we can't be smoking in here. I'll get dem good ol Mary Jane and then we can get hella fucked!" He grinned, getting up and motioning at the others to shoo.

He got the brownies and the weed from his hiding spot in the kitchen. He didn't need his parents to know anything about him. Not that they cared, but still.  
As an afterthought, he also took a few bags of chips and peanut mnm's in case they got the munchies.

Richie climbed up to the roof after his friends with the goods.

The roof was a really cozy place, specially adjusted to the friends' personal taste. There was a hammock Richie usually claimed, a few outside couches covered in soft pillows, bean bags, a great ass sound system Eddie had installed at some point and Bev had hung up fairylights. All in all, it was a great hang out spot. There was a wooden roof covering the entire shabang, closable of course. They just chose to leave the walls open during summer.

Everyone settled in a spot, Bev on the biggest couch with Bill and Ben, Stan and Mike on the other couch and Eddie sitting in a bean chair. Richie smiled softly to himself at the sight of his friends sitting there all together, laughing and talking. Ben and Mike fit right in.

Richie handed out brownies to everyone and immediately worked his way trough two of them, dropping down into the hammock with a satisfied grunt.

Not more than half an hour later, Bill, Ben and Eddie started showing signs. They were the lightweights of the group (no one really expected it of Ben, but no judging here).  
Bill's stutter decreased significantly and he couldn't stop giggling, Ben started reciting love poetry (which made Bev's cheeks a soft pink, unnoticed by anyone in the room) and Eddie came and started tugging at Richie's hoodie, mumbling something about being cold.

Not one to deny his pretty friend, Richie shrugged off his grey hoodie and handed it to Eddie, who sniffed it before putting it on.

Richie was a bit puzzled as to why he would still put it on after sniffing it, it probably smelt like cigarettes and just well... Richie in general. He'd worn it too often in the last week...

Eddie looked adorable in it though, so he wasn't complaining. The sleeves were slightly too long for him, giving him sweater paws. Richie didn't get much time to admire his friend though, the boy dropped down on him with his full weight, making a soft "oof" escape the taller. 

The curly haired boy gulped as his best friend nuzzled into his chest, making his heart jump.  
Damn... Eddie must be quite high already.

After another ten minutes, the rest got there too.  
Bev laughed at literally everything and started cuddling up to Ben, Richie stared at his friends, singing softly. Stan had latched onto Mike's arm. It was a strange sight to see him so blushy and soft... Mike didn't seem to mind, judging by how he was petting Stan like a cat. It was really a lovely sight. Richie stared at them from his hammock, still humming softly.

"Whatcha singing..." Eddie mumbled into Richie's chest.

"I'm not sure..." Richie replied, continuing to humm the song. He recalled hearing it once, but he couldn't recall what the lyrics were or when he heard it...

"I do." Bill piped up from the couch. "But I'll tell you some other time." He said with a smirk.

Richie wasn't sure what Bill meant, but he chose not to worry about it, instead looking back down at Eddie, who was almost asleep. Cute.  
Richie couldn't pull his eyes away.  
The way Eddie's dark brown eyelashes brushed his cheeks, the light summer freckles still dusting his button nose, his cheek slightly squished against Richie's chest and the soft waves of his hair falling across his forehead.

Richie smiled to himself, gently wiping the hair of Eddie's forehead. 

"So pretty..." he mumbled to himself before dropping his head back in the hmamock and closing his eyes, thus missing the blush that spread on Eddie's cheeks.

"Hey, I just realised something."  
Bev's voice came from somewhere on the ground.

Richie cracked open an eye and turned his head to look at her.

"We're like... All losers."

Richie snorted and he could hear a disapproving noise from Stan.

"No no, but hear me out! Like, look at me. I'm a seventeen year old girl that can't make friends with girls for whatever reason!" She exclaimed.  
Hah. Richie knew how jealousy worked. Bev being beautiful and not caring what anyone thought didn't really make her popular with the girls.

"And like, look at Stan!"  
The boy in question gave her a warning glare.  
"No offence dude, but you are like a top tier study nerd. You ace all your classes and you take the hardest ones. And! You wear slacks and oxfords!"  
Stan huffed, but really, she was right.  
"I'm just saying." She smiled.

"And then Mike. He's like the guy all the cheerleaders are into, but get this! He's actually not into girls! The irony is incredible." She exclaimed with a giggle. 

Mike just shrugged.  
"She's right you know."

Bev continued.  
"Rich didn't use to be hot. He had the worst style and super big glasses. He still has hella weird interests l mean, he constantly makes Star Wars references! That may be cool online, but not in our school hierarchy. Only reason he doesn't get beat anymore is his looks."

"Right she is, sure if flattered to be, I am not." Richie squeaked in some weird Yoda voice, making the others laugh. Including Eddie, who didn't seem to be sleeping after all.

"Okay and then Bill. I'm sorry my dude but your stutter, no matter how cute, was already risky. Sharing those interests with Richie just ruined your chances! Eddie same thing. Health issues and looking frail is one thing, but then the Richie interests!" She laughed at Eddie's grumpy 'hmpf'.

"And then last but not least, Ben, who studies for fun and is the new kid, which imediately puts him all the way at the bottom of the social ladder with the rest of us." She concluded with a grin.

"We're like... the losers club." Richie hummed.

"B-but with a capital L. Let's reapropriate the word! We're the Losers!" Bill grinned.

The others whooped and applauded. The Losers. That sounded great actually.

Richie grinned to himself.

"Losers got to stick together, right?" Stan muttered.

"Amen." Richie said. And that was pretty much the last thing he remembered doing before drifting off to sleep. The Losers woke up on the roof with a light hangover and an incredible hunger the next morning.

That was the start of a great weekend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehhehehe I loved writing this chapter so much XD  
> Hope you don't hate it 😂


	12. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Bev you can't even imagine the pain I'm going through!" He wailed, arms spread wide so Bev had easy access to the coat she was working on.  
> "He glanced at my lips today you know, like... He actually looked down and licked his own lips while staring at mine! He probably didn't mean to, but how am I even supposed to survive this?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slightly shorter chapter! We're nearing the end my dudes :0

A few months passed and the Losers kept growing closer, to the point where it was unlikely to even see one of them without one of the others during lunch break. Ben changed from being the new kid to the fat boy that hung out with the older kids, which made him slightly less of a hierarchical loser. But once a Loser, always a Loser, really. He was stuck with them now, and he had no plans of ever letting go. Richie had grown a liking to the two new guys. Ben was a sweetheart and Mike was always the voice of reason, just like Stan, though he still enforced their stupidities, which made him like the cool dad. He was eighteen, so they got to do a lot more stupid shit with him around. Legally that is.

Another thing Richie found himself doing a lot more often over the past few months, was practicing the play with Eddie after school hours. Of course he also did the odd scene with Stan or Ben, but he and Eddie were on stage together for a big part of the show. They practiced all their scenes exactly how they were supposed to happen in the play, but had decided to leave the actual kissing for the day itself. They also decided to wear underwear during the bed scene, for the sake of their audience. They practiced it with all their clothes on though, which was a shame, but they were acting anyway so it didn't make a difference really. Or at least that was what Richie told himself. He kind of really wanted to see Eddie without a shirt and yes he knew that was thirsty, but hey, let a seventeen year old have his fantasy!

Their teacher approved of the lack of kissing during practice.  
"It will only look more real when you kiss for the first time on stage." She had said, which didn't really make sense because they would perform four times... Richie got the vague feeling that she was shipping them, which was really weird and a bit unsettling, but at the same time very in character of her. 

The other preparations were coming along nicely too, luckily, since they only had a week left. Richie had finished recording the music early, Stan and Mike had finished the choreography and thought everyone the routine. (They were a real powercouple, it wouldn't take too long anymore for them to get together.) Ben and Eddie had just started working on sound and lighting, now that they got to rehearse on the actual stage they would do the play on, and could see the way the room impacted everything. Bill and Audra spent every waking second working on the show together and honestly, this was the most focused Richie had ever seen Bill.  
They were all eating breathing and shitting theatre at this point.

Richie had kind of become Bev's living mannequin for a while since he was done with the music early and the school didn't provide any for her. He didn't mind the occasional pin in his side, since he could spend more time with his bestie and he got to rant to her as much as he liked. Which was a lot lately. The constant close proximity to Eddie now that they were at the start of the last week, acting so in love with him, was doing things to his heart that it shouldn't be doing.

Right now she only needed to adjust the fit of the clothes she made for each person. So that's how Richie found himself in the dressing room on a monday night, ranting about his love life once again. (Mike had given Eddie a ride home so he didn't have to wait.)

"Bev you can't even imagine the pain I'm going through!" He wailed, arms spread wide so Bev had easy access to the coat she was working on.  
"He glanced at my lips today you know, like... He actually looked down and licked his own lips while staring at mine! He probably didn't mean to, but how am I even supposed to survive this?!"

Bev removed a clothing pin from between her lips and stuck it in the jacket.  
"Okay, so he knows you're bi now and that song you wrote was obviously about one of your best friends. We, of course, both now that it's about him, but he might think it's Stan or Bill." She moved to Richie's other side and added, "Besides, with Stan having come out as well and you guys being closer than ever, Eddie might think you were talking about him instead."

"But don't you think it's quite obvious Mike and Stan are hitting it off? I haven't seen Stan that infatuated since... since ever really." Richie said, looking down at Bev as she worked.

"Oh that's not true, Stan had that with you too, around ninth year." Bev mentioned offhandedly, as if that didn't rock Richie's world or anything, "But well, I don't know, I don't think you would see Stan is unavailable if you were in Eddie's shoes either."

"Wait wait wait, Stan used to be into me??" Richie dropped his arms, hissing in pain as one of the needles poked him, quickly raising them again.

"Yeah, it was weird... You were really one hell of a nerd and those glasses were so not flattering and don't even get me started on the whole style thing you had going on. That really wasn't it..." She replied, scrunching up her nose at the memory.

Richie couldn't even begin to fathom how Stan, who he had known since kindergarten, could even be into him.   
Stanley. The snarky guy that did nothing but eye roll whenever Richie talked. Into him, Richie Tozier aka Trashmouth.

But then again, he couldn't fathom how anyone could be into him really...  
Wait... Did that mean that there was a chance Eddie was actually into him, but he was too obtuse to notice??  
How would he even know? Should he ask? No that would make things hella awkward wouldn't it...  
He knew that if Bev suspected anything she wouldn't tell him until she was sure, which he appreciated. False hope was not something he could use in his life right now. Eddie was just acting like he always did, so there was no real indication that he might feel anything other than friendship for Richie, so maybe he should just wait and see?

"Hey Bev, how come I can notice when someone is into someone else, but not when they're into me?" He asked.

Beverly shrugged and added the last few pins into the fabric before carefully taking it off Richie and putting it down onto her sewing station. She looked him straight in the face for the first time in over an hour and gave him that cute half smile of hers. "You're very observant, but I think you somehow can't believe people might actually be attracted to you." She shook her head slightly with a grin, "It can be really funny to see when people are like, so damn obvious and you just don't see it."

Richie squinted and poked her chest.  
"You fucking enjoy this, don't you!" He exclaimed, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Bev raised her hands in mock surender.  
"Sue me honey." She giggled, giving him a wink before sitting down at the sewing station.

"Well that's not much of a help..."  
Richie sighed with a pout and sat down on the edge of her table, making sure not to disturb anything.

"I'm sure it'll work out Rich. Just find out a way to tell Eddie about your feelings. No matter what his response is, he's not the kind of guy that would ditch you for something like a love confession." She said, her voice taking on that gentle tone that she used when she was trying to calm someone down. Richie knew she meant what she said though.

He mulled over the idea in his head and eventually hummed.  
"I guess you're right. I'm just afraid he will laugh it off, which would make sense because I joke about things such as how cute he is all the time. Though he really is cute."

Bev shrugged. "Make him believe you then."

Richie smiled and straightened up. Now that Bev didn't need him, he should give her some peace and quiet to concentrate better. She might not show it, but he knew she was just as stressed as the rest of them with the immense pressure to finish in time.  
"Thanks for the talk Bev!" He exclaimed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"No problem Rich, just don't go doing anything dumb." She said, shaking her head with a smile.

"Never!" Richie replied with a grin, before making his way out of the room.

He threw on his dark, woolen blazer and started his way out. Richie let out a soft sigh. He didn't want to go home just yet and he was itching for a smoke... He really did need to get rid of that habit, if only it wouldn't be the one thing standing between him and a mental breakdown.

Richie walked past the stairs, putting another two steps forward before, on a whim, swiveling around and running upstairs instead of out. He took two stairs at the time and then three and then four and then he just flew up the full six flights of stairs, arriving on the top floor completely out of breath, but feeling slightly better than before. He should really take up running or something.

Richie opened the door to the roof and took a deep breath. The scent of freshly cut grass drifted on the crisp, late november air as a faint reminder of summer. Richie pulled his scarf out of his second hand leather shoulderbag (he thought it looked cool, Bev had shaken her head and said he looked like her linguistics professor with that jacket and the bag, which Richie interpreted as a compliment since the dude was hot) and wrapped it around his neck against the cold.

He walked over to the ash tray and plopped down in his usual spot. The boy pulled a packet of Viceroy out of his pocket and lit a cigarette, taking a long drag before exhaling the smoke. It was hard to tell how much of it was smoke and how much was just vapor. Not that it mattered. It all looked the same in the end, didn't it?

Richie sat there on the rooftop, far away from life, and he thought.  
He thought about a lot of things: the future, his parents, his friends, school, but most importantly, Eddie.  
He was in love with the boy, he knew that, the issue was just that he still hadn't done anything about it after all this time. They were almost three months further since his revelation and the only thing he had done, was write multiple songs about how goddamn in love he was and how it was unreciprocated. News flash Richie: love can't be reciprocated if the other person doesn't even know you're in love in the first place! Richie sighed and shook his head at himself. 

He was one step closer already though. Eddie knew he was bi. That fateful night had changed a lot in his life. Richie had become more open about his problems after the Losers had reacted so accepting and nice to him coming out. The morning after, he had told them all about the way his dad had completely rejected him and that it was the reason they always had the entire house to themselves, he had confided in Stan about his love for Eddie, which had strengthened their bond even more and he just trusted his friends so much more. They were there for him when he needed them and that was really all he could ask for.

Richie sighed. Eddie knowing about his sexuality was one thing, confessing his undying love would be a whole other thing... He wasn't sure he was ready to deal with the potential rejection, but he couldn't keep living like this. He could literally barely think about anything but Eddie and he knew even Bev was getting a bit tired of his constant whining.

Okay. So during the play they would kiss. It would be technically Romeo and Juliet kissing, but Richie knew already that he would not be able to hide the love he had for his best friend. The audience wouldn't know the difference, but Eddie surely would. After the play, he would tell Eddie. He would simply pull him aside when the rest left the dressing room (they had the most stuff to clean up anyway, so there was a big chance that they would be the last two people left) and then he would tell him the way he felt. He would just straight up say: "Eddie I love you, I have known for the past three months, but probably loved you for as far as I can remember. You don't have to say anything, I just thought you needed to know." and then he would leave the dressing room, so he wouldn't have to see Eddie's reaction and bail on him.

Richie smiled to himself. Yes. That was the way he was going to do this. Nice and easy. It would be fine... Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :))


	13. The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With every passing day, his resolve crumbled a little bit. He started overthinking about everything that could go wrong and today, the day of the premiere, he was completely freaking out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! The climax!

A week had passed since Richie decided he would tell Eddie about his feelings.   
With every passing day, his resolve crumbled a little bit. He started overthinking about everything that could go wrong and today, the day of the premiere, he was completely freaking out. 

He really couldn't tell him. It wasn't a thing he could do. Like physically, he would probably not even be able to get his tongue to form the words! He would become a bumbling mess, all red and on the verge of tears, which was real appealing wasn't it.  
Despite what Bev had said, it would probably ruin their friendship and they had just gotten to that point where they could spend hours sitting in comfortable silence together just existing and that was such a blessing. He couldn't lose Eddie...

"-chie. Richie!"

Richie snapped out of his worrying, releasing his puffed up bottom lip from between his teeth, tasting a slight tinge of metal. Shit he'd bitten his lip open again...

"Richie!" Stan's voice called again.

Richie's head snapped up and he stared at the boy in front of him with wide eyes, the worry still nagging. 

"Stan?" He mumbled.

"I've been calling you for like a full minute you idiot, why weren't you replying?" The curly haired boy in front of him grumbled, adjusting the stylish, cobalt blue hat on his head. "It's your turn for hair and makeup. You better hury up, the show starts in an hour and the makeup girls will literally eat you alive if they don't have time to do their own makeup."

Richie blinked a few times, the words not registering entirely. His heart was still beating way too fast from the Eddie induced panic he had worked himself into.

"Hey, are you okay?" Stan asked, concern lacing into his voice when he noticed how odd his friend was acting.   
He sucked in air between his teeth when he saw the state of Richie's lip. 

Richie lightly shook his head to regain his senses a little bit and showed his friend a bright grin. "Yeah yeah, I'm fine don't worry! Just a little bit stressed, that's all!" He said.

Stan raised his eyebrow.  
I call bullshit.  
Richie shrugged with a sheepish smile, his eyebrow twitching for just a second, but Stan noticed nonetheless.  
 _I'll tell you later, please give me some time..._

Stan showed Richie a reassuring smile, understanding how important space could be sometimes. He patted Richie on the shoulder. "Well, I'll get Mike to do his makeup first, you get something cold on that lip right now."

Richie gave Stan a last smile, grateful that he understood, before heading over to their teacher. She reprimanded him for ruining his lip so close to the start of the show and handed him one of those ice packs they kept around for when someone injured themselves during the dance routines.

The swelling went down quickly enough and the makeup girls managed to fix him up enough in time for the show. Except for Stan, no one figured out how damn stressed he was and if they did, the play was a good excuse. And yet... Richie couldn't shake off that nagging feeling in the back of his mind. 

The play was off to a good start, Richie stood behind the scenes in his tights, his luxurious, velvet blouse with the subtle sparkles (Bev had really outdone herself) and the lace up boots that added another five centimeters to his height. His hair was pulled back and tied with a small piece of blue string. He was really digging the look actually, despite the fact that he couldn't fully appreciate it due to those damn nerves of his... 

Richie watched how the first fight unfolded, feeling the tension build up inside of him. He really wanted to kiss Eddie and that scared him a tiny bit, because how would he be able to keep his feelings out of this? He was a good actor, but even he had his limits! He really really loved Eddie and the fact that their first kiss would just be staged... 

"Richie you're on." Audra's voice whispered from behind him. 

Richie sighed and gave her a small smile and a nod, indicating that he had heard her.

He shook his head and slipped into character, stepping onto the stage as soon as he heard his cue. He came on with a dreamy sigh and a spring in his step, Richie now gone and Romeo in his place.

The first scenes passed and everything went well, their audience totally loved every moment. No one really had a problem with Eddie being Juliet, which was a huge relief to Richie. He had somewhat feared the reaction of the people. It was still a small town and homophobia wasn't dead yet sadly enough... Good that they proved him wrong! 

Then it was time. It was time and Richie's heart was beating in his throat, he felt the cold sweat on his back and he was way too hot under the bright stage lights. Luckily Romeo was supposed to be anxious too in this particular scene so he could easily channel his emotions into his acting...

Richie (Romeo) stood on the stage next to Mercutio and Benvolio, looking around at all the dancing people.

And then, Eddie.

Richie's breath hitched in his throat.

The boy was dressed in a gorgeous, dark red, figure hugging dress (Richie would have to compliment Bev on that one), a brown wig on his head with glimmering pearls braided into the strands, a few hairs left out to frame his face. His eyelashes were coated in black and curled up, his lips a glossy red and when he turned his head his cheekbones glittered. It was such a gorgeous sight... Richie let his breath out in a soft shuddering sigh, probably looking just as starstruck as Romeo would have upon first seeing his Juliet.

He gained his composture enough to be able to bring his lines, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from Eddie during the entire time he was talking to Sally (the newbie that played the servant, who he asked the identity of the gorgeous lady that just entered). Which, luckily, was exactly how it was supposed to be. 

True, he had seen Eddie in the dress during their final rehearsal, but it was something else combined with the makeup and just... It felt different somehow.

Richie walked into the circle of dancing people and twisted and twirled until he reached Eddie, stopping dead in his tracks as soon as they came right in front of one another. The others kept dancing, but now a spotlight focussed on him and Eddie, the music draining into the background. It felt like it was just the two of them.  
Richie took a deep breath.

He put up his hand, the palm towards Eddie.  
"If I profane with my unworthiest hand  
This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:  
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand  
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss." He murmured, for only Juliet and the audience to hear.

Eddie showed a playful smile and placed his hand against his, his beautiful hazel eyes meeting Richie's own dark brown ones.  
"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,  
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;  
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,  
And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."  
He uttered, all but giggling. He reminded Richie of a lovey dovey schoolgirl in the best way possible. God he was so in love, he didn't even need to channel his inner Romeo, he felt like they were one and the same right then.

Richie showed a lopsided smile, a flirty tone lacing his voice.  
"Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?" He inquired.

Eddie tilted his head and let out a soft breathy laugh as if he wasn't entirely taking him seriously.  
"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer." His eyes were sparkling in the most flirtatious way and it sent butterflies to Richie's stomach.

"Oh... Then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;  
They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair." Richie said, putting a step forward, closer to Eddie.

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake." Eddie said, voice serious and eyebrows raised. He had to look up at Richie now.

"Then...", Richie gulped, his eyes flickering down to Eddie's soft pink lips, "Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take."

Richie watched as Eddie's lips parted slightly. A heavy silence fell over the room in anticipation and then and then...  
Fireworks. Their lips met and the song they sang together that night in the drama room started playing (Richie applauded Eddie for his placement). A gasp rippled through the audience.

Richie stepped in that last inch, bringing his hand up to cup Eddie's cheek, but he made sure it was the one away from the audience, so he didn't obscure the view. Holy shit holy shit holy shit he was kissing Eddie Kaspbrak, Eddie Kaspbrak was kissing him they were kissing soft lips pink lips cute soft lips help help help heLP HELP!!

The rest of the play pretty much went by in a blur. All Richie could think of was Eddie. There was more kissing and they acted so, so in love and Richie did not want it to stop ever, but it would stop and he was slowly losing his mind over here, he could barely focus on the insanely well coordinated, intrictate, sexually loaded, extremely gorgeous dance slash sword fight between Stan (Mercutio) and Mike (Tybalt) where Stan, died at the end. (It was truly a sight to behold.)

Richie only managed to come back to his senses a bit when they did the bows and the waves and the big smiling thing (god Eddie's hand was so soft in his own and so small and ugh), while their audience went wild. He knew they really did kill it, even though he was still half high on Eddie kisses.

Everyone laughed and high fived as they walked into the dressing rooms and Richie went out of his way to compliment everyone on their good work. There was a lot of laughter and messing around, but Richie only halfheartedly participated. He was in fact, still burning up with nerves. As soon as he remembered what he was planning to do, the worry came back full force. His stomach felt like it would implode and his back was covered in highly uncomfortable cold sweat.

But he wasn't backing down now. No, he was too far in it. He was doing it tonight and he was doing it right. Even if it meant he would have to move to Tasmania after the play and maybe start a small goat farm and never see any people in his life ever again...

Or at least that was what he kept telling himself, trying to stay sane while he wiped the makeup of his face and cleaned up all his stuff, putting it back on hangers so it was ready to use tomorrow. They would do the show four times, concluding with a cast party on sunday. (None of them was going to school on monday and they knew it, so getting drunk was definitely going to happen.)

Richie finished earlier than he anticipated, but he pretended to keep busy while the last four people (who happened to be Stan, Mike and some 10th year boys) finished up as well.  
The moment the four left the room, he was immediately hyper aware of Eddie's presence. It was like the boy was emanating this energy that made Richie's insides turn to mush with highly self destructing tendencies. Which wasn't a nice feeling to say the least.

Richie sighed. Okay. Okay. He had to say it. He would do it now, before Eddie finished as well. Yes. Now.

He cleared his throat and gulped. Then he adjusted the stuff on his station, he was not even sure what he was adjusting, he just kind of pushed his stuff around. 

Dammit Richie, no. Now. He had to do it now.

He cleared his throat again, his mouth gone completely dry. Richie adjusted his glasses on his nose and gulped again. 

Damn okay. Ok-

"What." Eddie bit at him, turning away from his own station. Richie saw that he was bare once again, the makeup all gone and his wavy hair was pushed away from his features with a thin spiked diadem, showing his face in it's natural glory. That same 'wow' hit Richie that had hit him when Eddie had first come out on the stage today. Turned out it wasn't the makeup and the dress that had made him all melty inside at all. It was Eddie.

Richie jumped a little bit as Eddie so abruptly turned towards him, interupting his internal crisis.

"W-what do you mean?" Richie mumbled, looking at his feet, once again adjusting his glasses even though they hadn't moved an inch.

"You've been loitering here for the past ten minutes as if you want to tell me something, but you haven't said a word yet, so please get it over with." Eddie replied dryly, his eyebrow raised.

Richie gulped, sighed, adjusted his glasses and looked down. He took a deep breath and then he looked directly into Eddie's eyes. 

He was silent for a few more seconds and then a strange feeling of calmth came over him, not unlike the feeling one might have while falling down a very high building, realising there was nothing they could change anymore and accepting the prospect of death. And then he just started talking. Just like that.

"Well the thing is, I love you. Like not the weird passing thing where you see someone hot and you go damn, even though I still think you're hot, I meant the kind of love where you wouldn't mind sharing your fries and you see something dumb and you want to share it with that person, you know, and like I realised a while ago but with us kissing I pretty much didn't have another choice than to tell you, because I'm at that point where I feel like I'm about to combust and it's a huge thing and I thought you should probably know and if you don't ever want to talk again I get it, I just thought you would want to hear it from me?"  
Richie's voice went up a little bit at the end in uncertainty.  
He really did just say all that huh...

Richie couldn't break eye contact with Eddie. He let out a soft shuddering sigh.  
"If you want to catch a ride with someone else I completely get it..." Richie added, voice quiet and frail when Eddie just stared at him wihout saying anything.

He was starting to get a little bit squirmy under Eddie's stare, unsure what to make of the expression he was making. 

He fumbled at the sleeve of his sweater.

He pushed up his glasses.

He cleared his throat.

And then he couldn't take it anymore.  
He needed to get away from here.

Richie finally managed to break his eyes away from Eddie's.

"I'll wait in the car, but no pressure, do what makes you comfy yaknow... Yeah okay... uhm..." Richie looked everywhere but at Eddie as he muttered. "I'll just... I'll go."

And with that, he ran out of the dressing room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gasp :0   
> A cliffhanger!
> 
> (Sorry not sorry XD)


	14. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay. So he had told Eddie how he felt. Eddie had not reacted. That could be good or bad, he didn't know that. It might be okay, he might even just ignore it ever happened!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter before epilogue ;-;  
> I can't believe it's almost done...  
> I'm going to miss this fic XD

Richie ran straight to his car. He didn't stop to say bye to Stan or Mike, who he could see loitering around Mike's car, but hadn't seen him. He knew Stan would figure out what was going on instantly if he saw Richie in this state and he really wasn't ready for that, so he escaped into his car.

Once he was in, sure that Stan hadn't spotted him, he dropped his face into his hands. He didn't scream. Not here, not now. He had to keep it together while he was here, he could see Bev talking to Ben at the other side of the building and Mike's car was too close to his own. He could not lose it right now.  
Richie took a deep breath to calm himself and turned his face towards the ceiling.

Okay. So he had told Eddie how he felt. Eddie had not reacted. That could be good or bad, he didn't know that. It might be okay, he might even just ignore it ever happened! 

Richie shrugged to himself. And what if it was bad? He could survive. He had survived worse hadn't he? A little heartbreak wouldn't kill him...

Right?

...

Richie stared out in front of him.

...

Right?

...

He dropped his head in his hands and let out a loud groan. 

Who was he kidding! He would so not be okay he was freaking the fuck out!! He had just professed his undying love to Eddie Kaspbrak! He would crumble into a pile of sad human if Eddie said he hated him... Or even worse if he told him that his love was 'very sweet' but he just thought they might better be friends!!! Richie would just spontaneously turn into dust if he was to tell him he never wanted to see him again! He would fucking combust!!

What even was a life without Eddie Kaspbrak? Could you even still call it a life? No, no he didn't think so!!

Richie stomped his forehead with the flat of his hand. (He was this close to headbanging the steering wheel, but the honking might be a bit of a dead giveaway)  
"Stupid. Get yourself together damnit... Stupid stupid stupid stup-"

Richie's self deprecating groaning was rudely interrupted when the car door opened, a gust of chilly december air floating in. 

The curly haired boy already opened his mouth to tell whoever it was to fuck off, but before he could say anything, Eddie's voice made his head snap up and eyes go wide.  
"Yeah, you're quite stupid. I can't believe you managed to forget your phone." The boy said, holding out the black device in question.

Richie just took the sticker covered thing from Eddie, completely shocked to see the other, eyes still as wide as saucers. He mumbled a soft "thanks", not taking his eyes of the other, afraid he would disappear. Richie really hadn't expected Eddie to show up. He wasn't sure why the boy was here... Did he just need a lift? Was he here to let Richie down easily? Would he just ignore this all ever happened? What was going on?

Eddie plopped into the car with a groan, stretching his arms a bit before he buckled himself in. Today really had been a long day, maybe Richie shouldn't have made it all that much harder... He hadn't stopped to think that what he said would also have consequences on Eddie! Damn he really was stupid wasn't he god dammit...  
"Stop overthinking and start driving, I'll explain on the way." Eddie said, crossing his arms and staring out of the windshield.

Oh great, now it was awkward. God fucking damnit! Idiot!

Richie started the car, softly screaming on the inside, and manoeuvred out of the parking lot. His heart was beating out of his chest and he felt as if he would spontaneously turn to ash like the Phoenix from Harry Potter, except he wouldn't rise born anew... But well, at least Eddie was talking to him now.

As soon as they hit the road, Eddie shifted on the chair next to him. Richie didn't dare to look, but he was alert and listening. 

Richie took a big breath and let out a shuddering sigh. He was ready.

It took another two (antagonising) minutes before Eddie started talking.

"So. First of all, fuck you for just dropping a bomb like that and then running. Bitch." Eddie deadpanned.  
"Second, how? Why? When? Where?" Eddie asked, turning towards Richie, clearly demanding an answer. 

Richie sighed, keeping his eyes on he road. He was pretty sure he was being let down now and Eddie just wanted to know... But at least there was no ignoring.

"Okay so, I'm sorry for running." He had been scared. Still was actually.

"And well, I was wondering why the fact you didn't want to kiss me hurt so much and I was driving around and found this gorgeous spot on top of the quarry and then I kind of had an epiphany." Richie muttered in one breath, barely audible above the sound of the car engine, before snapping his mouth shut again.

"Oh." Eddie breathed. The air in the car felt tense and enclosing without any music to break the silence. Richie felt as if he would suffocate. 

Eddie was only silent for about ten seconds, but it felt like an eternity to Richie. The pain could start any second now...

Any sec-

"Well I... I kind of like... Well... Well, me too." Eddie mumbled, getting caught up in his own words.

Suddenly Richie understood why Eddie had wanted him to drive. Like this he couldn't stare at him or they'd have an accident! Sneaky little shit... But with those words, Richie felt relief flooding him. And disbelief. But mostly relief. Wait but... Eddie liked him too? That was what he said right? That he liked him too? Or was he imagining things and just hearing what he wanted to? He needed to hear him say it before he would believe anything...

"What you too? You also like yourself?" Richie asked jokingly in an attempt to break the tension and still get a clear answer.

Eddie sputtered in the passenger's seat, motioning vaguely. "You know what I mean dickwad! Don't make this difficult!"

Richie didn't say anything. He turned his head briefly and fully took in Eddie's flushed cheeks and cute pout before making eye contact. He hoped his friend could see that he needed to hear it before believing him. Richie was fairly sure he knew what the other meant at this point. He just needed to know if this was real. He needed it to be. If Eddie was messing with him or he misinterpreted what he said, he would... He didn't know what he would do. He was fairly certain it wouldn't be anything good though.

"I..."  
Eddie took a shuddering breath and ducked against the car window, shying away from Richie's eyes.  
"I love you too."

Richie couldn't believe his ears.

He sat there in pure shock for a full minute at least before the words registered in his brain, the brightest grin to ever exist formed on his face. 

Eddie didn't just like him back, he actually loved him! 

This was literally the greatest thing to ever happen to him!!! He wanted to dance and shout and scream and dance and... and... wow. Eddie loved him too. He loved him. Like he actually said that and now he was sitting there all red and cute and wow.

"H-hey... could you show me the place? Where you like... realised?" Eddie muttered, barely audible.

Richie's face was positively radiating. He would do just about anything Eddie asked of him right now, which worried him, but made him feel as if he could take on tue world all at the same time.

"Well of course my Eddie spaghetti!" He replied, unable to keep the smile out of his voice. As if he even wanted to!

Richie kept smiling all the way to the quarry, even while they went over the bumpy dirt roads and he could feel his car protesting. He just couldn't help himself. Greatest night of his life. 

He parked in the spot he had been in last time and was once again struck by how pretty Derry looked from up here. It was like a sea of lights, every bright shining spot belonging to a home or an office or a street. Every light in that town had a history, just like every human did. It was the place they had grown up in and the place he and the Losers wanted to leave with every fiber of their being. The place that had kept them in the dark about the outside world, that hid them from reality and yet was it's own fucked up microcosm of hardship. It was beautiful in it's ugliness, it had lights in every dark place, it was overly protective and yet dangerous as could be. It was Derry.

Richie sighed softly. He turned his head to look at Eddie and his breath was taken away once again.  
The boy next to him looked so so gorgeous. The town's lights twinkled in his eyes, his eyelashes fanning over his cheek bones every time he blinked. His soft wavy hair fell over his forehead in the cutest way and the freckles on his nose were just barely visible in the dim lighting of the moon and the town. The only thing Richie could compare him with was a painting made by god himself and suddenly he knew what all those melodramatic poets were on about. He wanted to compare Eddie to the most beautiful rose, write songs about the way his nose curved, wanted to let anyone in the world know how beautiful this boy was. And yet... He wanted to keep him for himself and he found himself wishing this moment would never pass.

But then Eddie turned his head and looked right into his eyes and no, _this_ was the moment that he wished would never pass. The look of wonder in Eddie's eyes, the soft trust he could see there, the way the light made him look ethereal... Richie could look at him for the rest of his life and never get bored...

"This is beautiful!" Eddie exclaimed, letting out a breathless laugh, breaking the quiet trance Richie had found himself in.

Richie just smiled and laughed, still unable to rip his eyes away from Eddie.   
Then he got the corniest idea ever.

Richie stepped out of the car, hearing Eddie follow suit, walked over to the trunk and pulled out his guitar and a few blankets he kept there just in case.  
The curly haired boy settled on the hood of his car on top of a blanket and handed one to Eddie, who settled next to him. Richie was surprised Eddie even followed him out of the car, no questions asked, but felt his heart swell once again at the amount of trust the other put in him.

Richie hummed softly in thought and then remembered the perfect song. Oh hell yes this was definitely about to be corny. He strummed the first chord of the song that had popped to mind, glad that his guitar was still somewhat tuned.

The notes floated on the air, mellow and happy and softer than Richie usually preferred. It was a slow song. 

A love song.

Richie breathed in and instead of closing his eyes as he usually would, he locked them with Eddie's.  
"Eddie my love, I love you so" Richie sang, quiet and gentle.

"How I've waited for you you'll never know  
Please Eddie, don't make me wait too long." He continued, softly humming for a bit before singing the same lyrics again. He repeated the soft song a few times, his eyes never leaving Eddie's. He noticed the blush that crept up the other's cheeks, making him that much more beautiful.

"That's the song you were humming that one night in the hammock." Eddie mumbled. It was the cutest sight ever, Eddie all wrapped up in his blanket and blushing, illuminated by the almost full moon. The same moon Richie had seen all those months ago, when he realised just how much he loved the gorgeous boy sitting next to him.

Richie didn't stop plucking his guitar, but he did so a bit quieter, making it background music. "I guess it is, isn't it?" He hummed, smiling softly, "so Bill knows then..."

Eddie giggled. "Well you're not really that subtle probably, neither am I, we're just both a mess." 

Richie laughed his usual airy laugh. "I don't doubt it." He said with a bright grin. 

Richie put the guitar down next to him and looked up at the stars for a second before turning his head towards Eddie, only to find the boy already looking at him.  
They stared into each other's eyes for a good ten seconds. And then they simultaneously surged forward, meeting each other halfway. This was different than during their performance. Richie didn't have to worry about where he placed his hands so the crowd could see, so he placed them right against Eddie's gorgeous warm cheeks, gently pulling him closer.

He gasped as Eddie's hands tangled in his hair in return, giving a tentative tug at the long locks. (Seems like he looked quite closely during that kiss with Bev after all...)  
Eddie parted his own lips slightly, following Richie's motions a little bit clumsily. That's when it dawned on Richie. This might be Eddie's first kiss. 

Richie pulled away just a little, enough to be able to talk, and looked straight into Eddie's shiny brown eyes. A slight frown formed on his face.  
"Eddie..." he whispered, "was... was this your first kiss?"

Eddie blinked and glanced away only to look back. "Well technically the one during the play..." He mumbled, his eyes turning even warmer under Richie's hands. 

"Oh..." the taller breathed, barely audible, a small smile on his lips. If he was going to be Eddie's first kiss, he would have to make it memorable.

He removed his glasses from his nose and carefully put them next to the car along with his guitar so he wouldn't accidentally break anything.  
Then he turned back to Eddie, soft Eddie, the blanket pooling around him, and his cheeks a beautiful bright red, blurry, now that he wasn't wearing glasses.

Richie scooted closer, bit by bit, until their faces were mere centimeters apart and he could see Eddie clearly once again.  
And then he connected their lips.

It was a soft kiss at first, but they were still teenagers with raging hormones, so that didn't last too long. Richie's hands moved to Eddie's waist, Eddie put one hand back into Richie's hair and one on his chest.  
Richie tried to hold back at first, not wanting to be too aggressive, but then Eddie softly tugged at his hair again and he just... He wanted this for so long and now he could have it and Eddie didn't seem to be bothered, so why would he hold back?

Richie licked the seem of Eddie's mouth, asking for permission. The other willingly parted his lips without as much as a second thought and that was really all Richie needed, his heart surging with love amd adrenaline and the slightest twinge of lust.

He deepened the kiss, leading Eddie as their tongues intertwined.

Richie had kissed before, but never like this. The feeling of Eddie's small waist under his big hands, not soft like the girls he had kissed before, but hard and with defined muscles. The way his lips felt soft like rosepetals from all the chapstick he used. The way he tasted like mint and those lemon drops he loved so much. The way he smelled like wild rose shampoo, detergent and the slightest hint of hand sanitiser. The way his breath hitched slightly, making Richie's heart flip in his chest. Wow. He had really fallen deep, hadn't he...

The kiss turned more passionate fairly quickly, both of them so desperate to hold one another after all this waiting. Richie's hands moved up under Eddie's shirt, caressing his back. At the soft whimper that action pulled from Eddie, Richie pulled the shorter boy onto his lap, wanting him closer, to feel his body against his own. Eddie moved his hand to cup the back of Richie's neck and pushed himself even closer to the their chests now flush together.

The kiss deepened even further with the new angle. Eddie pushed back against Richie, challenging his leading now that he felt a little more comfortable and managing to drive Richie completely crazy in the process. They started teasing one another, almost as if it was one of their usual discussions, and it felt so, so right... All Richie could think about was Eddie. His sweet, gorgeous, feisty, strong, brave Eddie. The boy he would fight the world for.

God he was so in love...

And then Eddie readjusted himself on Richie's lap and he could feel something poking his thigh. Richie knew Eddie could feel him too, the way he was sitting, straddling Richie's thigh, it was impossible not to. They both froze up in mutual understanding, pulling away from the kiss. 

Richie took in the way Eddie looked. His usually neat hair was all messed up, his lips red, swollen and shiny from kissing and his eyes. God his eyes. They were wide and so full, full of love and lust and trust, sparkling like the stars... They felt so safe and familiar that Richie never ever wanted to look away ever again.

"Should..." Eddie started, but he didn't finish his sentence. Richie perfectly knew what he wanted to say though. He shook his head. It was too early. This was Eddie's first real kiss.

"As much as I want that" Richie sighed. Fuck, and _how_ he wanted it.  
"We shouldn't go too fast." He whispered.

Eddie just nodded, understanding that this was in no way a rejection. He leaned in once again, not bothering to change his position in Richie's lap, and continued the kiss. Richie felt as if he was in heaven.

They kissed for a while more like that, until they were both too exhausted. They didn't go home that night, instead cuddling up together under the two blankets on the hood of the car, reveling in each other's warmth. They watched the sun rise together and then they kissed some more and then they cuddled a little bit more and the world was just the way it was supposed to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FLUFFFFFFF  
> MY BOYS  
> TOGETHER AT LASTTTTT


	15. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie just shook his head, punching the other's shoulder with a frown and a groan. 
> 
> And then they kissed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter 😭😭😭

The next three shows went just as well as the first one did, with the slight change that Eddie and Richie seemed even more in love than the first time. If the others noticed, they didn't mention it, maybe they appointed it to good acting. Richie avoided being alone with Stan and Bev for too long. He and Eddie had talked and decided to tell the other Losers when they were all together. 

The audience loved the show, there were no big mistakes (a few of the lighting cues went wrong, so they had to do a fight in the dark and at a certain point the music malfunctioned, so they had to take a small break, but in the end, it went pretty good. No complaints.) and everyone had one hell of a good time. The whole drama group became closer than ever, the newbies now officially part of the group. 

After the actors left the stage after the last curtain call, everyone cheered as if they had just won a war. People hugged each other, people kissed each other, new friends took pictures together and made plans to meet up in the coming vacation. However, no matter how much they all loved the show, it still felt really good when they finished and all the stress was over. There was a slight bit of melancholy, but mainly relief and happiness.

Richie went around and congratulated every single person on their job, on first name basis with the entire group already. He was social like that. They all worked together to clean up the place after the audience cleared out, the costumes all got put in bags to wash and then be put into the costume room, the props got stashed away and the floor got brushed. It didn't take too long before all the work was done and the drama club gathered outside in the parking lot.

Now, it was party time! Richie had offered his house last year so this time, they would all go to Audra's house. She'd offered to host as long as the place didn't get trashed too much and everyone helped with the cleanup. They would all bring some snack and booze as always, to keep it fair.

That was how all the Losers ended up piled into Mike's pickup truck, two crates of cheap booze in the back and Stan and Ben each holding a giant plate of cookies in their lap. The truck was a bit of a tight squeeze, Eddie in Richie's lap and Bill in Bev's ("I will never sit in the middle again and I'm taller anyways", had been her reasoning), but they made it work.

They all joked around a bit and talked about the play, still on the high of performing. It was familiar and fun and Richie found himself smiling whenever he wasn't talking (which didn't happen that often, but you get the gist).  
Just as they pulled into the driveway of the house, where the biggest part of the drama club had already arrived, Richie piped up.  
"Hey guys?" He started, the tone in his voice making everyone turn to him, stopping in the middle of their conversation. Stan was looking at him through slitted eyes and Bev's eyebrow was raised, as if they somehow knew that he was going to say something that he knew would change their entire group dynamic, while the rest of them looked a bit uncertain, almost worried.  
He and Eddie exchanged a glance, mischievous twinkles in both their eyes.

And then Richie said it. He said: "Me and Eddie are dating, just thought you all should know."   
He said it as quick as Eddie would have, dropping the bomb as fast as he could. He and his boyfriend (BOYFRIEND WOOHOO) jumped out of the car giggling, perfectly coordinated, and sprinted towards the house, hand in hand, all before the other Losers had even processed what Richie had even said. It was the perfect prank.

They arrived inside, vaguely hearing the other Losers screaming after them, car doors closing, and mingled in with the dancing teens in the living room.  
"I can't believe you actually did that!" Eddie giggled, leaning in close to Richie's ear so he would be audible above the music.

Richie showed a dazzling toothy smile that made Eddie go weak in the knees.  
"Hit and run baby, that's my style!"

Eddie just shook his head, punching the other's shoulder with a frown and a groan. 

And then they kissed. 

They were in the middle of the room, between all the people they knew, most of them only since this year, and they kissed. Full on french kiss, no inhibitions. No one really cared, some too drunk, most of them suspecting they had been a couple since the first day they joined drama and there had seemed to be some kind of lover's quarrel going on, a few giving a supportive cheer.

It was perfect.

Of course, the other Losers still got a hold of them eventually.  
They explained everything, from start to finish. Of course everyone still groaned at Richie's lewd comments and jokes and Eddie's face was bright red the entire time through. No one was surprised they liked each other, the only thing they were maybe a bit shocked by, was the fact that they managed to confess to one another without it being an accident. After the story, Stan and Mike also announced that they were in fact a couple, which no one was surprised by at all. They had just grown closer while dancing and after the first time they worked on the Tybalt vs Mercutio sword fight, Mike had asked Stan on a date, to which the younger had obviously said yes. The rest was history.

"Hey looks like you two are going to make following in my footsteps a trend!" Richie had joked, referring to the infamous coming out night, making Stan roll his eyes and making Mike chuckle.  
To everyone's surprise however, Bill also introduced Audra as his girlfriend. 

Richie saw little things in her behaviour that reminded him of Bev, so really he wasn't all that surprised that his friend was into the redhead, it was just surprising that he had given up his hopes of being with Bev. He hoped that Bill really loved her, and wished them the best. (He was secretly relieved when she didn't join their friend group though. Seven of them was probably the maximum they could manage to squeeze into one car and they already had Beverly.)

The night was crazy, as every cast party up till now had been, really.  
They danced and laughed and drank and partied and some of them spent a good part of the night caught up in each other. The bedrooms were off limits, but that didn't stop anyone... There was dancing, shouting, laughing, people that exceeded their own limits and people that didn't drink at all, there were some joints being passed around (if anyone asked, Richie hadn't been the one to bring those in), ...

At one point Richie requested the DJ (Tom, one of the newbies) to play "Eddie My love" and got Eddie to dance with him while the entire room cheered for them. (To which Eddie turned bright red and cursed at Richie for being so corny, but he secretly loved it and Richie knew it.)  
All in all, it was a great party.

Richie knew that this night couldn't last forever, though.  
Life wasn't perfect, Richie knew that, but he was surrounded by friends and people that accepted him. The Losers would be there to support him since they were pretty much his family now. He had everything he needed and yes, he even had that special person that he loved so much right beside him. It might be a teenage romance, but then again, it might not be. 

Life wasn't perfect, but right then?

Right then it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *walks on the stage, choking back tears*  
> "I am so honoured to be here. I would never have expected to finish this fic and now here we are!"  
> *wipes away a tear and breathes in deeply*  
> "I just wanted to say thank y-"  
> *bursts into tears*
> 
> 😂😂😂
> 
> Okay but in all seriousness, I wanted to say thank you to my amazing, beautiful, lovely, talented beta! Sarah, you're the best!!! Without you there would be so many dumb mistakes in here it ain't even funny 😂  
> And then a special shoutout to Space_Wea5le!!  
> You are the first person ever to regularly read something I wrote (that I know of) and your comments made my day every time!!  
> And all the other people that read this, thank you too!
> 
> Peace out XD


End file.
